Full Metal Alchemist: The Return
by J . U . T . H . L
Summary: AFTER SHAMBALLA: The adventures of Edward and Alphonse continues, two years later, when the brothers discover a way to travel between our world and theirs harmlessly, and come back to Amestris to find new suprises in store. Sequeal to 1st anime & movie.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

In the land of Germany in the 1930's, after the time and failures of Hitler, two men could be seen sitting on a hill staring at a beautiful sunset.

"Alphonse…it's almost time to go back," spoke the older of the two men. The other boy nodded and stared at their surroundings, revealing that they sat in the middle of a giant circle, drawn with paint and an dead older man's body in the middle. The man held up a bomb and a red stone which he passed to the younger man.

"Brother, are you sure you want to go through with this and have me activate the circle…?" said the younger boy.

"It's a risk we'll have to take... now come on. We need to destroy this bomb as soon as possible! Plus, the Führer is waiting for us on the other side….at Amestris," the older man said with a confident look. Two other people appeared at the bottom of the hill and the men waited until they reached them.

"Gracia, Hughes!" the older man called out, addressing the couple as he waved to them.

"Ed…are you really going back…to your world?" asked one man of the newly arrived group.

"Yes, Mr .Hughes. Ed and I plan to return to our world. I'm glad I could finally convince you to wed Gracia though. That was a fantastic wedding," replied the younger boy as the members of newly arrived group blushed at the mention of their wedding.

"We shall miss you all terribly. Your situation seems so complicated…but…I look forward to the day you can come and visit," said a woman.

"We'll try, Mrs. Hughes, but I don't think we'll see you guys for a while...but for now, I'm sorry to say that the time for good-bye is over. Our comrades on the other side are waiting…," the older man said sadly as the circle began to shine a light sky blue. The couple walked away and stood at the outside of the shinning circle. The younger man put his hands together and put his hands on the grass. The whole circle turned blue and the two men went through the portal like whole, leaving the world they were in behind and popped up in a bustling city known as Central. There, familiar faces were waiting at the edge of an identical circle, all smiling.

"Führer Mustang! Colonel Mustang! Major General Armstrong!" the younger boy called out as he and the other man rushed to them.

"Welcome back, Elric Brothers," said a woman with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, Colonel Mustang, Führer, and Major General," The younger boy said with a sheepish smile. Everyone laughed and the five walked towards a building close by.

"It's so good to see you boys again...your faces sure do bring back a lot of old memories," a man with black hair said as his eyes clouded with the remembrance of the horrors he encountered several years ago.

"None-the-less, Führer, it's still good to have them back," said a nearly bald blonde man with a moustache.

"It's good to be back."


	2. Chapter 1: The Return

**_Chapter 1: The Return_**

**''** "_Mama…Papa…?" a scared voice whimpered as she approached two dead bodies, lying in a heap of blood. The man standing over top of her parents turned around and she saw a man with black hair, a blue outfit covered by an ugly tan cloak and tears in his equally black eyes. _

"_Mama! Papa!" the girl screamed as tears rolled down her face. She felt frozen as she couldn't tell her body to move and run away from the scary man__**. 'Why are they like that?! Who is that man?! Why won't Mama and Papa answer me?!'**__ the girl though to herself as she sniffled and tried to back away. _

_The man looked at her sadly and saw his face darken as he mumbled, "I'm sorry…," before he pulled out a rusty knife covered in bloody knife and rushed at her. _**''**

* * *

Winry woke up suddenly with a cold sweat and heavy breathing. The dream she just had of her parents' deaths startled her and she was close to tears. Feeling a little confused at her unusual surroundings after she calmed down, she looked around and remembered that she was staying over at the Hughes' home while visiting Central on her way to Rush Valley. The door opened and a head popped out and two small green eyes on an adorable bobbing head of a seven-year-old girl full of dark blonde hair looked at her worriedly.

"Sis…?" the girl called out shyly.

"Elicia! When did you wake up?!"

"Just now…when I heard you scream," Elicia mumbled as her mother, Gracia, barged in crying, "Winry! Are you alright?!"

"Mrs. Hughes…! I'm fine, thanks! I…just happened to have a very bad dream. I'm sorry to have startled you and Elicia first thing in the morning…," Winry replied to the widow meekly with a small embarrassed smile.

"Sis got a bad dream..?" Elicia repeated as she climbed onto Winry's bed and tried to snuggle to her for comfort. Winry smiled sadly and hugged Elicia as she answered, "Yes, I did. Sorry for screaming…," while Gracia came over and sat on the edge of Winry's bed, patting her daughter's head. The room was silent for a while until Gracia broke the silence by standing up and saying, "Elicia, Winry, it's almost 10 o'clock, so please get ready for breakfast. I'll go and prepare some eggs and toast!"

Gracia walked out of the room and the two girls broke out of their embrace. Winry stood up and asked, "Elicia! How about I give you a piggy-back ride to the washroom?"

Elicia nodded as Winry bent down to allow the young girl to jump on her back. Elicia giggled and Winry decided to play along by pretending to be a horse and galloping around on their way to the bathroom and sharing a few laughs along on the way.

* * *

"Oh, Mrs. Hughes! This is such a lovely looking breakfast!" Winry gasped as she glanced at the many plates of delicious looking food laying on the table before her.

"Thank you, Winry. Just for that you can take some home to your darling grandmother," Gracia said with a smile. Elicia bounced to her seat and sat at one of the chairs as Winry smiled at Elicia's mother and seated herself at the table.

"Elicia, dear. Eat the toast, okay?" Gracia said.

"But Mom! The toast is all burnt again!" pouted Elicia. The two women laughed and Winry said, "Elicia, it's supposed to be crispy and crunchy. To do that your mom had to warm it up until it was almost burnt. Get it? It's not burnt yet, okay?"

"But…it looks like it," the little girl replied. Winry smiled and picked up a piece of toast and bit it.

"Yum! It's so good! Elicia, there's nothing wrong with the toast. Come on now, try it!" encouraged Winry. Elicia looked at the toast with disgust but took a piece of toast and bit it. She swallowed and said, after a few seconds, "It's not bad…but I still don't like the burnt taste!"

"Winry! Thank you. I've been trying to solve the toast problem for quite some time and you did it for me! I couldn't be any more grateful to you," Gracia -having been silent all this time so she could see whether or not her daughter would finally eat toast- told Winry with a glad semi-smile. Silence befell the room again until after they all finished breakfast.

* * *

It was nearing the afternoon as Winry looked around the room, making sure that she didn't leave anything behind. She picked up her bag and walked towards the front door of the apartment like home, where Gracia and Elicia were waiting for her. Gracia handed Winry a basket full of food, which she accepted.

"It was nice to have you over and see your face again. Are you sure you must leave right now since your train home doesn't leave until 6?" Gracia asked.

"I'm sorry I can't accept your invitation to stay a while longer, but I must go a visit a few other friends here in Central I want to say good bye too before I leave," Winry replied as she bent down and hugged Elicia.

"Bye-Bye!" Elicia cried out as Winry opened the door and left, walking down the stairs that lead out of the apartment complex building.

'_Maybe I'll go and see Sciezka and Mrs. Mustang before I leave and say my farewells!' _Winry thought to herself as she walked down the street.

* * *

"Eh?! You're leaving?! Today?!" Sciezka cried out in a surprised manner when Winry revealed that she planned to return to Resembool. Winry had found Riza Mustang and Sciezka having tea together at a local café.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Sciezka, Mrs. Mustang, but I can't keep my grandmother waiting for long, so I'm going back to Resembool today," Winry replied apologetically.

"Would you like me to drive you to the station?" Riza asked as she stood up and grabbed her hand bag.

"Yes! We'll come and see you off!" Sciezka exclaimed as she clapped her hands together excitedly. Winry smiled and replied, "Of course! We should leave now then," as the women finished their tea, paid and got into Riza's car, where Riza started up the engine and drove off down the road towards to the train station. When they got there about fifteen minutes later, it was nearly 6 o'clock and they rushed inside. Winry rushed to the train and took out her 'Arrival & Return' ticket which she gave to the usher. He nodded and Winry waved to the two women with her and let herself onto the train, found her seat and put her bag on a carry-on space before seating herself.

"_Attention all passengers: Last call for passengers of Train 0284 before departure to Resembool in two minutes," _an announcement said as Winry watched more people pile onto the train. She looked out the window and saw Sciezka and Riza waving at her from the other side of her window. She waved back as the train announced that the train would be leaving within a minute. Winry opened the window and shouted out "Bye!" just as the train whistle blew and the train began to rumble away from the station and the two Winry was waving to. She closed the window and sat back down and yawned. The trip took at least a day and a half and Winry didn't usually like to travel by herself. She never did leave home much unless it was a situation involving her friends, the Elric brothers. She wiped away the small tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

'_I didn't realize I'd been crying over those two again…,' _Winry thought miserably and moaned quietly to herself as she slumped in her seat with depression. She sat there silently and before she knew it, she was asleep.

* * *

"Miss…? Miss…?"

Winry stirred at the sound of a voice provoking her to wake up and looked up groggily to see an attendant, looking down at her with a kind smile.

"Miss, it seems that you haven't eaten for quite a while. This trip still lasts for a few more hours, so maybe you would like to go and grab a meal from the cafeteria cart?" the attendant regarded with another kind smile. Winry looked at the attendant quizzically, before realizing that the attendant was right. Winry was definitely hungry and knew that she fell asleep for at least 2 hours or so.

"Would you happen to have the time?" she questioned the attendant, who she saw had a watch. The attendant looked at the watch, and told her the time. Winry thanked her as the attendant left just as she stood up and went down to the cafeteria cart to get some food for herself. She sat down at an empty table near the window and looked at the menu until she was surprised by a waiter who had come to her side to take her order.

"Oh! Uh…I'd like…this garden salad and tea, please," Winry ordered wearily as the waiter wrote down her order on a small pad.

"Will that be all, madam?"

"For now, yes it will be, thank you," she replied meekly as she closed the menu and gave it to the waiter. She stared outside the window for a few moments until she heard a small 'clack' and turned to see the waiter placing a tray on her table with her order.

"Your order, madam. Please call if you wish for anything else," the waiter said as he bowed and left. Winry tucked into her food and a few minutes later, finished and breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up and went to the cash register where a young woman probably a year or two older than her was waiting.

"Table number, please?" the cashier asked.

"Uh…number five!" Winry replied hastily as the cashier looked at a piece of paper in front of her and began pressing some buttons on the cash register., making the machine go 'Click, click, click…beep, beep, beep….,'

"That'll be nine-hundred and thirty-seven amestries, please," the cashier told Winry as she fished around in her wallet and gave the money to the cashier. A few more clicks and beeps later, the cash register made a 'Ding!' noise as the money compartment opened and the cashier fished around for change. After Winry received her change and was told, "Thanks for coming! Have a nice day and please come again," she left and went back to her seat. Her stomach was full and her mind felt pretty blank. Winry laid back on her seat and decided to let sleep drift in yet for the second time that day.

* * *

A loud giant whistle startled Winry awake again and she bolted upright in her seat in a cold sweat and a thumping heart. She looked around and realized she was still on the train taking her home, but looked outside the window and realized the train was now travelling on more familiar grounds that she was used too.

'_I'm almost home!!!' _Winry thought happily to herself as she heard an announcement saying that the train would reach Resembool within 5 minutes. Winry smiled and waited for the remaining few minutes of the ride.

A little while later, the train stopped at the Resembool station, announced the stop and the passengers began to grab their carry-on-bags and got off the train. Winry grabbed her bag and rushed off, looking around her as she exited the door to the train. She looked around, hoping that her grandmother would be there, but wasn't. Winry sighed and left the station, trying to gather the courage to walk all the way home.

Twenty minutes later, Winry saw a house over the hills bearing the name 'Rockbell Automail' and smiled as she ran the rest of the way up to her house. She stopped and stared at the home she lived in all her in for a few breath-taking moments before reaching into her jacket pocket for a key and unlocking the front door. She opened in and barged in, shouting "Grandmother! I'm home!" as she watched a short figure shuffled to the door to greet her.

"Winry…welcome home."

* * *

**AUTHOUR'S NOTE: **

**Hi there everyone! J. U. T. H. L here! **

**This is my [not-so-good-because-it's-unprofessional] second story: "Full Metal Alchemist - The Return"!!**

**SORRY FOR NOT WRITING ANYTHING IN THE PROLOGUE AND MAKING THE PROLOGUE SO SHORT! **

**I thought it would look un-professional if I did so. **

**Yes! This is pretty much a fan-made-squeal to the first anime series & movie! THERE IS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SECOND SERIES [Brotherhood] IN HERE AT ALL! **

**ZIP! ZAP! NADA! NOTHING!**

**Please don't confuse the animes! For first time people who don't know about the FMA [Full Metal Alchemist] Series, I shall explain it to you!**

**FMA is basically a series about 2 brothers who lose parts of their bodies while trying to revive their dead mother using a forbidden technique and are on a mission to find a legendary stone [The Philosopher's Stone] and re-gain the body parts.**

**The brothers are Edward [Older brother, lost his left leg and right arm] and Alphonse [Younger Brother, lost entire body] Elric. **

**Please just WATCH the first series to clear things up because the 2 series are somewhat the same but somewhat different!**

**You see: The plot in first half of the first series was based on the manga, but the plot was suddenly changed halfway through.**

**The second series is based entirely on the manga! (Or so I've heard?) : P**

**Anyways! A few things you may want to know! Amestries [Ah-mess-treehees] are probably not the currency used in Ed & Al's world! I just made it up!**

**And for those of you who understand what's happening in the Prologue, you would know that:**

**In the Prologue, the Elrics are coming back to their world and destroying the gate, as planned at the end of the MOVIE, and meet Hughes & Gracia from OUR WORLD. **

**ON their return they meet Colonel Roy Mustang, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and Major Alex Louis Armstrong, all of whom have had their ranks increased. **

**I made Roy the Führer, Riza his wife and a Colonel, and Major Armstrong a Major General. Don't worry! His sister [The ex-Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong] got promoted too! **

**Anyways, you're probably wondering why I would come up with such a story like this? Well, for a past month or so, I've been watching the second series [Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood] and my love for FMA was sparked again! I had a sudden desire to do a WinXEd story! **

**Sorry if the first chapter, based mainly on Winry' experiences, were somewhat of a pain. But there will be a BIG surprise within the next few chapters!! I've been thinking of the plot for a little while so please don't worry! It'll definitely get more exciting and I'll try to add as much humour, action and romance as I can! **

**So please wait for me while I update this! Might take a while since I'm such a lazy bum! Dx **

**So please forgive me because….there's definitely going to be a few cliff-hangers there! : )**

**Anyways! Sorry for taking up so much of your time! : (**

**Bye~!**

**--J. U. T. H. L **

**TEXT GRAMMAR EDIT: March 13****th****. 2010 **


	3. Chapter 2: The Arrival

**_Chapter 2 : The Arrival_**

"Gran! Den!" Winry called out happily at the sight of her elderly grandmother, Pinako, shuffling into the entrance hallway with her dog, Den. At hearing her name being mentioned, Den bounced up to Winry and jumped on her in excitement. Winry fell over and laughed as she felt Den's tongue licking her face.

"Den! Den! Ek! Please girl! Off! It tickles!" Winry laughed as she tried to gently push the big dog off. Den barked and jumped off as she felt Gran's cane tap her bottom gently as a warming. Winry sat up and breathed a small sigh of relief as she cleaned the dog's saliva off with her jacket sleeve.

"Thanks, Gran…I would have suffocated there!" Winry exclaimed.

"You should be more careful," Pinako said quietly as she turned around and motioned for Den to follow. The large dog happily bounced after her elder master and Winry was left alone in the hallway.

"What did she mean by that?" she mumbled as she stood up and dusted herself. Winry picked up her bag and dropped it off on her way to the living room. There, she found her grandmother sitting on the couch calmly petting and scratching Den.

"Gran? Is…something wrong….?" Winry asked her grandmother worriedly as she approached and sat down beside her grandmother. She saw that her grandmother was secretly crying and trying to hide the tears rolling down her face. She gasped as she asked why her grandmother was crying.

"It's because…I'm glad you're back…I'm getting old…and I don't know how much life I have left and …," Pinako mumbled quietly as she stared at her granddaughter's face, "I'm glad you're here…I'm glad you didn't end like your parents. Since you're the only person I have left."

Winry gave her a small smiled and patted her grandmother's back.

"I'm sorry I'm acting up like this. I promised myself that for as long as I lived, I would never cry in front of you…."

"It's alright…I cry all the time," Winry told Pinako. They both smiled at each other and the room was quiet for a second as Den stared at the two women in confusion and went to lay down in front of the fireplace. Winry decided just then to stand up, and stretch as she claimed to be going to her room.

'_I guess I'll go and take a bath.' _Winry thought as she went through some clothes in her bag and accidentally grabbed a [very] skimpy light blue nightgown Gracia had made for her during Winry's stay. She rushed to the bathroom and undressed as she waited for the water to warm up. Winry pulled off her hair tie and got into the tub, and let the warm water ease and sooth her.

'_This is so relaxing…!'_

* * *

"Gulp…," Winry said as she realized that she accidentally brought the [very] skimpy nightgown with her. Winry had just exited the tub after a very satisfying bath and realized the big mistake she made. She sighed and put it on, and decided to wear a robe to cover it up.

'_Why did I pick this super skimpy dress to wear?!' _Winry thought to herself in frustration and left the bathroom. Winry tried to sneak to her bedroom on the second floor but was caught by Pinako who saw her exiting the bathroom and called her out. Winry turned around in embarrassment and Pinako saw the skimpy nightgown and laughed.

"Wouldn't one of the Elrics sure love to see you in that?" Pinako laughed at the mention of the elder Elric brother. Winry's face darkened as she blushed and cried, "No, it's not like that!" as she stormed off to her room in blind fury. She shut the door behind her, sat on her too familiar bed and laid her head on the pillow, and silently cried without realizing it.

"Stupid…those jerks have been gone for 2 years…why would they want to see me in this ugly thing…? Ed would just laugh and say it makes me look fat…," Winry whispered sadly to herself as the tears made her pillow wet.

'_Will he ever notice my feelings for him…?' _Winry thought sadly as she let tears and sadness turn into sleepiness and let it overwhelm her.

* * *

"Ruff! Ruff!" Den barked as she barged into Winry's room and tried to wake Winry up by licking her hand, which was over the edge of the bed. The barking and ticklish sensation of the licking made Winry stir and she lifted her head to see who dared to wake her. After realizing that it was her dog, she sighed and shooed the dog away and rolled over in her bed. She was half-awake and saw that it was indeed, morning and her stomach grumbled. She sat up, yawned and went to the kitchen to find some food. The fridge was nearly empty.

"Gran! Why isn't there any food…?" Winry called out.

"I was going to do the shopping later today. If you want breakfast, go do some grocery shopping for me, will you? I have a customer!" Pinako called back and Winry closed the fridge door with a slight sigh. She rushed back to her room and got dressed for an outing and grabbed her purse on her way out of her room. She went to the front entrance and cried that she was leaving for the market. Den ran up to her and barked. Winry smiled and petted the dog's head before putting on her shoes.

"Bye Den! Tell Gran I said bye okay, girl?" Winry asked. Den barked again and Winry had no choice but to laugh.

"To the Market!" Winry cried as she left the comfort of her sunny yellow home.

* * *

In another part of Central, Roy Mustang, Riza Mustang and Alex Armstrong, were in the middle of the city and Roy was busy drawing a transmutation circle with paint. Riza and Armstrong were just watching him from afar in a crowd who was watching their leader paint this circle in the middle of their city for unknown reasons.

"Sir. Are you certain that you do not need assistance on this kind of job?" Riza asked her husband.

"Colonel Mustang, you should do your own preparations for their return," Roy said as he addressed the Colonel.

"But Sir, all of the preparations are done. All that's left is the transmutation circle, which should have been done a while ago by one of the Lieutenants," Alex told Roy.

"Sheesh! Being Führer sure isn't an easy task huh?" Roy sighed and he finished off the last bits of the circle.

"There! It's done!" Roy exclaimed happily as she stood up and dusted himself as Riza and Alex came up to him.

"Will they really come back?" Riza asked quietly.

"If we do what they told us too in their messages, then yes, they should come back to us" Roy replied.

"I hope this works…," Alex said.

Roy activated the circle and it flashed blue. All of a sudden, the drawings in the circle disappeared and turned portal-like as the ground began to rumble.

"See? It's working!" Roy said as two body like figures merged out of the circle.

"It's true…they're coming!" Alex said in surprise as two bodies stumbled out of the portal and rushed to them in happiness, clearly not noticing the ruins of their surroundings.

"Führer Mustang! Mrs. Mustang! Major General Armstrong!" the younger person, a boy called out as the two figures ran to greet Roy, Riza and Alex.

"Welcome back, Elric Brothers," said Riza with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, Colonel Mustang, Führer, and Major General," The younger boy said with a sheepish smile. Everyone laughed and they all began walking towards a building close by.

"It's so good to see you boys again...your faces sure do bring back a lot of old memories," said Roy, as his eyes clouded with grief.

"None-the-less, Führer, it's still good to have them back," said Alex.

"It's good to be back," The older person, another man said as they all reached the building.

"As Colonel Mustang said, Welcome back, Edward, Alphonse," Roy said with a smile.

* * *

"Apple…apple…apple. Oh boy! Don't they sell apples here at this market?" Winry wondered to herself as she wandered around the store, looking for some apples. She wandered into the vegetable aisle and found the apples lying near some oranges. After leafing through and picking out some non-rotten apples, she went through the oranges and went to the bakery area and went up to a clerk.

"Would you have any fresh loaves of bread?"

"Yes, ma'am! We do! You are actually quite lucky, because a new batch of fresh bread loaves should have come out of the stove a few minutes ago and should be cooling by now," the bakery clerk replied.

"That's great!" Winry replied happily.

"Well then, if you wish for bread, please follow me," the clerk said and motioned for Winry to follow as he went towards an open door. Winry followed him and found herself in a room filled with a wonderful smell. She realized the smell was bread and the clerk was wrapping up a fresh loaf of bread that was sitting on a cooling rack.

"That'll be one-hundred and twenty-five Amestries please, ma'am," The clerk said as he handed Winry the wrapped bag. Winry fished around in her purse, paid for the bread and left the bakery area. After picking up a few more needed items, Winry found herself waiting in line at cash register. She waited for her turn, paid for her groceries, left the market and walked home to the yellow building she knew and loved so much.

* * *

"So. Ed and Al? What took you so long to return to Amestris?" Roy asked as he stared cruelly at the two brothers sitting in front of him. They were at his office in Central's military building. One of the boys sitting in front of him was around twenty, had golden hair and eyes five to six shades darker than Winry's hair, was around 5'10" and was known as "Ed". The younger boy, around fifteen, had even darker golden hair and eyes, was around 5'6" and was commonly known as "Al". The two boys looked at each other nervously and shivered.

"Al and I were trying to find a way to travel between the gates harmlessly…and we think we found it," said the 20-year-old known as Ed.

"Really…? No wonder you didn't want to destroy the gate right away" Roy exclaimed in a bored tone, although he was getting interested in the topic but trying his best not to show it.

"Brother wanted to study the world on the other side. But it got too dangerous and we had to destroy the gates anyway," said the 15-year-old Al.

"Well, it was certainly dangerous. Most of the middle of Central got destroyed by that transmutation circle!" Roy mumbled sadly as he thought of all the paperwork and press he would have to deal with.

'_Maybe I can get Riza to deal with the press for me…,'_ Roy thought happily and snapped back to reality, where he heard Ed trying to get his attention.

"Oh! Sorry! I was…thinking…about something," Roy said meekly as he nervously smiled at the two boys. Ed sighed and continued to explain about his findings, saying that he found a bomb built on the other side that was necessary to destroy the gate and get them back but a sacrifice was needed. They stayed at the office of nearly half an hour talking and catching up before Ed stood up and said that he was going to return to Resembool and wanted a vacation.

"A vacation huh? Since all of the military's past feuds have been solved, I guess I could approve of that. But you get a week only. After that you must come back," Roy said as Riza entered the room.

"Sir. You have a meeting in five minutes," Riza told Roy.

"Ah. Good timing. Seems like I've got to go. The Elrics were just about to leave for their one week vacation anyways, so please lock up Colonel," Roy said as he stood up, said his good byes to the brothers and left his office.

"Oh? You boys are just about to go back to Resembool?" Riza asked.

"Yeah. We've been gone for two years, so maybe we should go and say hi to a few old friends of ours, shouldn't we?" Al said.

"Well, we'll see you later, then, Colonel!" Ed said as he waved and continued to walk down the hall.

"Looks like I'd better get going too," Al said as he politely bowed to the Colonel.

"Stay safe out there now," Riza told Al.

"We will! Bye now!" Al replied as he ran after his brother. He caught up to Ed and asked him if he wanted to visit Gracia and Elicia.

"Yeah, sure. It's been a while since I saw the face of a Hughes...might as well stop by and give Elicia's old man an offering," Ed said as he and his brother left the building and went into a nearby floral shop, and bought a small mourning bouquet, left and walked down the street into a nearby apartment building. Al looked sadly at the debris they caused.

"Brother...we caused all of this mess...we should fix this!" Al said pleadingly to his brother. Ed sighed, said okay and both brothers went to see the destruction they caused.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! We're here to help so please make way!" Al called as he tried to make his way into the middle of a distraught crowd. He and Ed each touched a piece of the debris and a blue electric spark came out of no where as in a blinding flash, everything that was destroyed was restored and everything was back to normal. The people of Central began to calm down and thank the brothers for fixing the damage as they tried to sneak away before anyone said the damage was their doing.

"Anyways time to go to Gracia's!"

* * *

_**Ring! Ring! Ring!**_

"Winry! Pick up the phone will you?" Pinako shouted and Winry rushed to the phone, picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Winry? Is that you?" asked a [very] familiar female voice on the other side of the phone.

"Mrs. Hughes?!" Winry exclaimed in surprise. It had been nearly two days since she left Central and since it was getting late, she had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing the [very] skimpy light blue nightgown again. By accident.

"I'm sorry for calling so late! I hade to wait until Elicia fell alseep...because they told me not to call and tell you...but I couldn't help myself! It's really good news!" Gracia said excitedly. Winry began to feel a growing suspicion inside her.

"What is it? Is the dress you wanted to buy for Elicia finally on sale?" Winry asked.

"No! Even better! THEY are finally back! After all these years!" Gracia rushed happily.

_'I think my suspicion is right...' _Winry thought as she asked, "What do you mean? Who's back?"

"You'll see! I'm sorry, I'd tell you but I said too much. Please expect a call from Colonel Mustang in a few minutes, okay? She told me she would call you," Gracia told her.

"Well...okay. I'll wait for her call. Thanks, Mrs. Hughes,"

"I'd better go check up on Elicia now, so bye,"

"Bye," Winry said as she hung up and waited beside the phone. As expected, two minutes later, the phone rang once again.

_**Ring! Ring!**_

"Hello?!"

"Well, well. Don't you sound excited," said Riza.

"I just got a call from Mrs. Hughes! She told me there was good news! Is your baby here?!"

"Well. Yes there is good news, but it's not that. A couple of people who have been missing are finally back and Mrs. Hughes told me today that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone they were, but they never told me or my husband that when we saw them earlier yesterday," Riza explained to

"Who's back?" Winry asked in frustration. She wanted to confirm her growing suspicion.

"I'll let Roy tell you that," Riza said as Winry heard Riza talking to him and she heard his voice a minute later.

"Hello, Miss. Rockbell," Roy said.

"Führer Mustang. It's an honour to get a call from you," She said to Amestris' military head.

"Please, just call me Roy. Anyways, do you want to know who's back, or not?" Roy asked impatiently.

"Yes! Tell me, please?! It's...not them is it...?" Winry asked nervously.

"If you mean the Elrics...," Roy said as he paused dramatically.

"Then yes. They're finally back,"

_**BAM!**_

"Anyone Home?!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I'm back with Chapter 2! YAY!**

**By the way, I forgot to mention that I DON'T OWN FULL METAL ALCHEMIST! **

**NOT THE ANIMES, MANGA, MOVIES, DVDs, E.T.C!!**

**SO NO SUEING PLEASE BECAUSE THIS IS PURELY FAN-MADE! : )**

**I do admit to owning this plot...and something else. Haha. **

**It's a little surprise you'll see come up later in this story. : P**

**Anyways...FINALLY! CHAPTER 2!!!**

**I hope you like it!**

**FOR YOUR INFORMATION: I found a few mistakes in the Prologue, so for those of you who began reading this BEFORE Chapter 2 came out, please read it again, to clear things up.**

**Sorry for the inconvenience! **

**Anyways: Ed and Al have finally appeared! Yay!**

**I realized that maybe chapter 1 was too short, so I expanded it a little in Chapter 2. I'll try and make my chapters this length, unless you readers would like to make it a bit longer? If so, please tell me so through a message, in your review or how ever you wish to contact me!**

**Well...I have nothing else to say...So see you in Chapter 3!**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THIS STORY AND HELP ME IMPROVE SO THAT I CAN GIVE YOU READERS BETTER CHAPTERS IN THE FUTURE! **

**THANKS!**

**-J. U. T. H. L **

**TEXT GRAMMAR EDIT: MARCH 13****th****. 2010**

* * *

**EXTRA BONUS:**

**Ed: Sigh! That chapter was long! =_=**

**Author: Oh, Shut it Ed! This is a Fan-Fic. Winry had more parts that you and she's not tired!**

***Both look at Winry, who's prancing and dancing around like crazy***

**Author: See what I mean?**


	4. Chapter 3: Familiar Faces

**_Chapter 3: Familiar Faces_**

"Speak of the devil. It seems like they're here now. I guess I'll go as well," Roy said, amused by the situation.

"Oh! Well, bye then! Tell Riza and the baby I said 'hi'!" Winry stammered as she quickly slammed the phone and ran happily to the hallway entrance.

"Anyone home?!" the voice called out again.

_'It couldn't be...it's true! It's really true! They're back!'_ Winry though happily as she came face to face with two people she thought she would never see again.

"It really is you! Ed, Al! You're finally back...!" she whispered as she put her hand on the wall to keep her balance as she felt like her legs would turn to mush and give up on her, while the tears roll down her face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I come back and the first thing I get are the waterworks," Ed teased as he gave her a kiddish smile.

"It's good to see you Winry! You must be really happy to see your precious Edward, again, huh?" Al mocked. He received a pain in his side as Ed elbowed him and winced as Winry suddenly rushed up and hugged Ed. Al and Ed gasped in shock as Ed's face flushed red when he felt Winry's soft and inviting arms wrap themselves around him. He smiled to himself and hugged her back as he her whisper, "Welcome back." Ed felt his coat get wet as Al laughed and Pinako barged in to see what the commotion was about. Winry and Ed quickly let go of each-other in embarrassment.

"Well, well. What do we have here? Someone who disappeared again for two years with his brother without a word! And you, Winry! You'll catch a cold in that skimpy thing you're wearing," Pinako mumbled hauntingly. Ed turned eleven shades of red darker than before when he realized that Winry was, indeed, wearing quite a skimpy nightgown.

"G-G-Gran!! What are you doing here?! Where's your customer...?!" Winry stammered nervously as she flushed twenty shades of red darker than Ed.

"He left. I heard voices and decided to see what all the commotion was about. It appears the idiot Elric brothers have finally decided to show their faces to society again!" Pinako said coldly with a rather harsh smile. One of Ed's veins snapped as he yelled out, "I am NOT an idiot! I happen to have a degree in Rocket Science, thank you very much!"

"It's true. Brother bragged about it all the time," Al replied with a small sigh that got him a noogie.

"Fine. I'll admit you're not idiots, since you've grown, but it's rude to stand in the middle of a hallway hugging someone's granddaughter when the person is there. If you two have any busy with each other then get a room! Otherwise, hurry up and come in," Pinako mocked harshly. Winry and Ed's faces one again flushed red with embarrassment.

"Well, she started it," Ed mumbled to himself as he picked up his bag. He suddenly felt pain on his head, screamed and turned around to see Winry glaring at him and holding a wrench in her hand.

"Well sorry for worrying about you two for what seems to have been most of my life!" Winry yelled as Ed saw tears of anger flow down her face.

_'Oops...! I'm such an idiot!'_ Ed cried in his head. Winry stormed off angrily and Al ran off after her just as Pinako came back to see what happened and saw Ed standing alone sadly in the hallway.

"You really shouldn't have done that, Edward. It's too late now, so don't worry about it. She'll calm down a little later, so hurry up and follow me," Pinako said as she turned and left the hall. Ed followed her to the living room where he set down his suitcase on the floor.

"It's been a while since I've stepped foot in this room," Ed said as he gazed around the room full of memories. He then turned, left and went over to Winry's room, where he bumped into Al, who was coming out.

"You really are idiotic sometimes, brother," Al sighed as he left for the living room. Ed moaned to himself and cursed his stupidity as he walked up to Winry's bedroom door and knocked.

"Who is it?" He heard Winry ask angrily on the other side of the door. He opened it and looked inside to see Winry curled up on a corner of her bed hugging her pillow for comfort. He walked in a sat down on the end of the bed with his back to her.

"I didn't say you could come in!" Winry hissed.

"Look. Just listen. I'm sorry about what I said... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Ed mumbled as he gave a slight sigh.

"Yeah, right! It's not my fault I worry about you-" Winry stammered.

"Look, Win. Al and I are old enough to take care of ourselves. Besides, we're not little anymore," Ed said softly as he turned around and smiled at the teary girl sitting behind him on the other side of the bed.

"I wasn't finished! What I wanted to say was....It's not my fault I worry about you...because...what if I lose you guys one day?" Winry whispered as more tears fell down her checks. Ed moved a little closer and patted her head, which lay on the wet pillow.

"We're not going to die any time soon, Win," Ed assured her softly.

"You already did once, Ed...," Winry said silently. Ed's eyes grew wide with shock.

"How do you know…?" Ed asked with surprise.

"Al told me he got the feeling you did. I know he doesn't have all of his memories of when he was in that armor…but…he told me...he got the feeling something happened to you...and he seemed really sad when he said it," Winry told him miserably.

"It's…true…I guess you can that I did die once. Wasn't too horrible…until I came back and realized Al died too," Ed said quietly as his face darkened at the thought of the moment of the day he died.

"So…you really did die once," Winry confirmed.

"Yeah…it wasn't a good day for me. But I'm still alive," Ed assured her with a small smile. The room was silent for a moment before Winry spoke up, saying, "Please, Ed…don't…die on me, again,"

Ed smiled sadly at Winry and moved a little closer to her, making her bury her head more her pillow so that she didn't need to see him. He lifted her head up and used his index finger to remove her tears and hugged her. She didn't resist and felt limp in his arms.

"Don't cry, Winry. You know I hate it when you do," Ed whispered worriedly as he let go.

"Sorry…I know you hate it. Look. Just…go. I need some time to myself," Winry whispered as she turned her head away from him. Ed frowned, stood up and walked up to the door.

"I'm sorry for all I've done to make you worry...," Ed told her sadly as he opened the door and left.

'_Why…did I fall for him? I wonder…if what Al said earlier was true.'_ Winry thought sadly as her memory received a flashback from earlier.

* * *

'' _**Knock, Knock.**_

"_Winry? Are you in there?" Al asked after he knocked on Winry's closed bedroom door._

"_What do you want?!" He heard Winry scream from the other side of the door. Al paused from a moment before deciding that he should go in and try to confront her._

"_Can I come in?" He asked. There was silence before a moment before the door opened and a teary eyed Winry let him in. She closed the door and retreated to her bed and curled up with her pillow as Al sat on a chair at her desk. _

"_Sorry about brother's behavior," Al apologized. Winry looked at him sadly and sighed._

"_I know he didn't mean it. I'm sorry for yelling at you," Winry whispered as she turned her head to him gave him a sad look before burying her head in her pillow._

"_It's okay. But, if you know that brother didn't mean it, then…why are you so mad?" Al asked. Winry looked at him again and tilted her head._

"_It's because I was so worried! I don't see him for what seems like forever, he comes back and rushes off again! How do you think I would feel?! Especially since…" _

"_Since what?" _

"_Since…I think I might actually be in love with him," _

_There was a slight gasp from Al before Winry told him so hush._

"_Please, don't mention anything to him. I don't think he's ever return my feelings anyways," Winry told Al sadly. She jumped a little suddenly when Al surprised her by standing up and looking at her with an emotion that seemed like…regret?_

"_How could you know that?! What if, by chance, he likes you too?!" Al mumbled angrily. Winry just shook her head miserably._

"_That's not possi-"_

"_Winry! Please! I'm pretty sure that after spending nearly all of my years with him, I know how he feels about you!" _

"_What…do you mean, Al?"_

"_I'm saying I think brother likes you too!"_

_There was silence in the room before Al realized Winry's jaws dropped and her eyes were filled with shock, before she closed her mouth and gave him a sad look again._

"_I don't think so, Al. He's too busy. He'd never notice me and see me as a girl, not just his mechanic and childhood friend," Winry sighed sadly. Al's hands turned into fists before he turned his back to her and walked to the door._

"_Fine. If that's what you think, then we'll see," Al mumbled before letting himself leave the room. _**''**

* * *

The next morning, as the sun rose in the sky, Pinako came out on the patio and sat on her rocking chair and stared at the sunrise for a few peaceful moments before Al appeared.

"It sure is a beautiful sunrise, huh?" Al asked as he sat down on the patio floor next to Pinako.

"You sure wake up early, Alphonse," Pinako remarked.

"My years of staying up all the time have gotten to me, I guess," Al replied sheepishly.

"At least you're not like someone I know," Pinako mumbled.

"You're right about brother. He likes sleeping in," Al stated.

"So does Winry...," Pinako sighed.

"Speaking of Winry...I just found out something really interesting last night," Al smirked with an evil grin on his face.

_'It's my turn to play cupid...! Ha, Ha, Ha!' _Al thought happily as he turned to Pinako, who had a look of interest on her face.

"Go on...I'm listening."

* * *

"Isn't she ever going to come out?!" Ed hissed as he paced around the living room, while Pinako and Al were setting up the table.

"She'll eventually get hungry, so she's bound to come out," Pinako said.

"Brother? Why are you so impatient?" Al asked.

"Because I'm hungry and want food!" Ed moaned as he whipped around and his stomach grumbled as if on cue to prove Ed's point.

"You are really inconsiderate…," Al mumbled as he shook his head sadly. Ed glared and whipped around as he heard footsteps approach from the hallway.

"I'm hungry. Is breakfast ready yet?" the voice making the footsteps called out from the hall.

"See what I mean?" Pinako mumbled.

"Winry! You usually cook breakfast don't you?" Al shouted back. Winry appeared in the kitchen - having changed out of the nightgown into a regular t-shirt and jeans - and laughed at herself.

"Oh, yeah! Don't worry. Breakfast might be a little late, but let me cook and I'll prepare something delicious!" Winry smiled as she walked by and ignored Ed.

"Great! What are we having?" Ed asked.

Winry completely ignored him by not answering his question and got started cooking whatever she was going to make for breakfast. Ed sighed and decided to ignore her as well by sitting on the sofa in the living room.

_'I guess I really messed up, huh?'_ Ed thought to himself with a sigh before he was surprised by another voice that said, "You sure did!"

He turned around and was surprised to see Al sitting next to him, giving him a nasty glare.

"Oops...did I say that out loud?" Ed chuckled nervously.

"I'm not going to answer that, but I can say that you should go apologize to Winry," Al said as he gave Ed another glare. Ed sighed as he patted Al's head and told him, "I already did."

"When?" Al asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

_'Clearly, he doesn't get why he saw me in the hall last night!' _Ed though with a bit of annoyance.

"Last night, just as you left," Ed replied with a small smile.

"Breakfast is ready!" Winry shouted from the kitchen. Ed stood up and Al quickly did the same. Both brothers walked to the kitchen, and took the wonderful smells of cooking in.

"Yum! Smells good! What's for breakfast?" Al asked as he seated himself.

"The traditional bacon and eggs with toast," Winry replied.

"Sounds good," Ed said as he sat down beside Al, with Winry still ignoring him. Pinako came in and seated herself just as Winry put a plate full of food in front of each person, before seating herself in an empty seat beside Pinako

"Time to eat!" Ed, Al and Winry shouted in harmony before digging in.

* * *

"Hmm! That was good!" said Ed as he gave his stomach a satisfied pat.

"Indeed, it was. Winry, you sure do make a good cook," Al commented as he put his plate in the sink. Everyone had just finished their breakfast and had gone to do their thing. Pinako went to help a customer, Winry and Al went to wash the dishes and Ed went to make a phone call.

"Al? Who did Ed say he was calling?"

"Brother said he was going to call the Führer to check in,"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Ed doesn't lie, Winry,"

"Yeah, right. He's just a two-timing money-waster who doesn't care about bills and taxes."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another section of the Rockbell home, Ed was dialling a number and waiting for someone to pick up.

_**Rng! Ring! Ring! **_

"Hello. Führer Mustang's office,"

"Colonel Mustang?" Ed asked with shock as he addressed Roy's wife with surprise.

"Edward? It's good to hear from you," Riza said expressionlessly.

"You too, Colonel! Sorry to bother, but, uh, is the Führer there?" Edward asked.

"No. He's currently out on duty," Riza replied.

"Oh okay. Tell him I was checking in and that Ed said hi," Ed said cheekily.

"I will, Edward,"

"So? How's the baby?"

"I'm sure the baby's fine. I can't be too sure but-Oh…,"

"Colonel? What's wrong?"

"The baby...it's...it's coming!"

"WINRY!!!" Ed shrieked. There was a crash and Ed felt pain on his head again as he winced and turned around to see an angry Winry with her wrench grasped in her hand.

"Look what you did! You made me drop an expensive plate!" Winry hissed.

"But...Colonel Mustang's baby!" Ed squeaked. Winry's eyes grew wide with shock as she dropped her wrench.

"Ed...please...call someone...that can help...! My water just broke and it's starting to hurt," Winry heard Riza call out from the phone. She grabbed it from Ed and put it to her ear.

"Colonel?!" Winry asked breathlessly.

"Winry...? Is that you?" Riza asked in a pained voice.

"Colonel! Breath! Breath in and out! Hang on! We'll get someone that can help you!" Winry cried.

"Thanks...please, hurry...! Send someone to Roy's office…," Riza gasped. Winry hung up and stared at Ed with a scared expression on her face. Al came in and stared, confused at the expressions on their faces.

"Edward! What do we do?!" Winry cried.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**December 31st. 2009**

**I'm here again! Happy New Year Everyone! Haha! Uploading on New Years! I've decided to date my author's notes, so yeah. I hope this makes things a little easier. **

**Hope that ending wasn't too dramatic for you! Riza and Roy's child! It's coming! **

**For those of you idiots out there, yes. I made it so that Roy & Riza get married and have a child together. **

**Is it a boy or is it a girl..?! Who knows?! Ek! **

**Wait...I do! (I think?)**

**Actually. I do. But I don't have any idea for names yet. I'd ask you guys for suggestions, but it would kind of ruin the moment, right?**

**Well. I hope you like this chapter. Winry and Ed have an argument and what could Al and Pinako be planning?! I don't really know yet...ha ha. **

**I swear I feel like I'm having a writer's block! =__=**

**I don't really know what to do next, and I feel like something's missing from this chapter. **

**It doesn't feel…complete. For some reason unknown to me!**

**HELP!!**

**(I guess I should also apologize about all the boring conversations/dialogue. I'm going to add some action, sooner or later. Hopefully. I also apologize for such a short chapter Dx)**

**Question: What's with Winry and the skimpy dress? : )**

**Answer: I so don't know! Just wanted to add a bit of humor. Haha. : P**

**WARNING: I may have to change the rating of this because it's…going to get a little inappropriate soon! Ugh! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't know anything belonging to FMA, except this [purely] fan-made plot and a little surprise that shall appear in later chapters. It belongs to Hiromu Arakawa and whatever company animated and subbed FMA and made it into an anime, such as Funimation, e.t.c.**

**(Haha. I only know one producer company. LOL!) **

**See you in Chapter 4~! **

**-J. U. T. H. L**

**TEXT GRAMMAR EDIT: March 13****th****. 2010 (This chapter had a lot of mistakes!)**

* * *

**EXTRA BONUS: **

**Author: What if…Ed didn't return..? Hmmm…**

**Author: *Beings imagining random scenario***

**Random Unknown Person: "Anyone home?!"**

**Author Narration: **_**'It couldn't be...it's true! It's really true! They're back!'**_** Winry though happily as she came face to face with a person she thought she would never see again. **

**Winry: Mr. Hughes?!**

**Maes: OhMiGawd! Winry! Winry! I know the original author, Arakawa-San, made me die and all, and I still think that script is ALL wrong, but I just HAD to show you this adorable picture or Elicia!! *Maes squeals in delight as he pulls out a picture of his daughter and shoves it at Winry's face***

**Maes: Isn't she adorable?!**

**Author Narration: Winry becomes so angry with rage that she kicks out Maes and he ends up flying through the air, like Team Rocket from Pokemon! **

**Maes: Maes Hughes is blasting off again!!! *Sad Face***

**Author: *Snaps back to reality and shivers* **

**Author: I am NEVER imagining such random plots ever again! Dx **


	5. Chapter 4: The Rose and the Coin

**_Chapter 4: The Rose and the Coin_**

"Oh, god! What do we do?! What do we do?!" Winry freaked out as she paced around the hallway.

"Can I at least know what's going on first?" Al asked.

"Colonel Mustang's in labour!" cried Winry.

"Winry, don't stress yourself. It was bound to happen sometimes! I'm going to go find Gran," Al said calmly before running off to find Pinako, leaving Winry and Ed alone again.

"Winry! Can you stop reminding me?! Last time, it was Mrs. Hughes, now it's Colonel Mustang! What are we birth magnets, or something?!" Ed sighed as he began to pace. There was silence in the room for a moment before Winry spoke up and gave a suggestion.

"First off, since we aren't in Central, we need to somehow contact the Führer and tell him the news. Next, we need to reach some kind of doctor that can help Riza. That's all we can do for now, since we're all the way in Resembool," Winry spoke with little confidence after much thinking.

"We can't! That Colonel bastard's out on some kind of Military Duty! There's no way to contact him unless he conveniently called us! Which isn't going to happen! Ever!" Ed cried.

"Well, why didn't you say so?! We could've saved some time by calling a doctor instead if you just told me!" Winry shot back.

"Don't give me that crap right now! We have a baby and a mother to save!" Ed hissed as he grabbed the phone from Winry and was about to dial a number before he was interrupted by a voice on the other end of the phone.

"I'm still…here you know! You might…want to hang up first," Riza moaned from the other end. Winry quickly took the phone away from Ed and told Riza that they were going to call a doctor and hung up. Ed took the phone back and was about to press a number when he got interrupted again.

"Who are you going to call that will help us?" Winry asked miserably. Ed stopped, mid-dial, and stared nervously at the numbers before a light bulb came off in his head.

"I know exactly who to call!" Ed said excitedly as he spun the dial around a few times and waited for it to ring.

"Wait! Who are you-" Winry asked before getting shushed by Ed.

"Shh! I'm calling Sciezka!" Ed whispered back as he placed his index finger to his mouth to indicate silence.

_**Ring! Ring! Ring!**_

"Hello. Sciezka speaking!" said a voice once the phone was picked up.

"Hey! Sciezka? Winry wants to talk to you," Ed told her as he passed the phone to Winry. She glared as she put the phone to her ear and mouthed, "Why me?"

"Edward? Hey, long time no see! I didn't-" Sciezka began before she was interrupted by Winry.

"Hey, Sciezka. Sorry, this isn't Edward anymore. It's me, Winry," Winry told her apologetically.

"Oops! Ha, ha, never mind!" Sciezka mumbled as she laughed at herself nervously. Winry stared as Edward made a motion of having a round stomach to remind her of Riza's predicament.

"Yeah, it's good and all to se you too, Scieka, but we need your help!"

"We…?"

"Yes! Edward, Colonel Mustang and I!"

"Oh! Right! Okay! What do you guys need help with?"

"Well, you see…I just called Colonel Mustang a moment ago and she was going into labour! Can you go find that idiotic husband of hers and get a doctor?"

"Oh , no! Of course! I'll go right away! Thanks for telling me!"

Winry hung up the phone a few minutes later and glared at Ed.

"Why did you make me be the one to talk to Sciezka?!" Winry asked angrily as she glared harder at him, making Ed a little nervous under the pressure.

"Don't you know it's uncomfortable for me to talk about that kind of stuff?! It's all been taken care of anyways, so does it really matter?!" Ed mumbled as he crossed his arms. Winry's face softened as she shrugged and breathed a small sigh of relief as she stopped worrying, before giving Ed a small smile and walking away, but not before hearing a certain, squeaky, noise from Ed.

'_Did…that 'squeak' just come from Ed's ARM?'_

* * *

"Gran?" Al called out as he walked into a work room and found Pinako working on an auto-mail arm.

"Yes, Alphonse?" Pinako asked as she continued to work and didn't even glance up to see who called her out.

"I think our little plan will be in effect soon," Al replied as he sat down in an empty chair beside Pinako and smiled slyly. Pinako finally acknowledged him by putting down her wrench and turning to look at Alphonse.

"It might be better to not-"

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"WINRY! PLEASE! I SAID I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T-OW!"

"WHY CAN'T YOU CONSIDER THE HARD WORK AND EFFORT I PUT INTO THAT ARM?!"

Alphonse sighs as he looks apologetically at Pinako, who nods at him silently, and stands up.

"Sorry, Gran. I'll be right back. I need to see what Winry and Ed are up too," Alphonse says as he leaves the room. Pinako sighs as she turned her attention back to the auto-mail limb she was working on.

'_This is a very special auto-mail request after all…,' _Pinako thought as she picked up her wrench and got back to work.

* * *

In the midst of the military building in Central, Riza grimaced in pain as she lay on the ground on her back, breathing in and out, as instructed by Winry. It was definitely painful and she could feel something coming that seemed like a head. The head of a newborn baby. Her newborn baby. The door opened and she saw two people come in. Riza's eyes were too blurry with tears of pain to see as she struggled to push the baby out of her.

"Oh my goodness! Mrs. Mustang!!" cried the voice of a familiar voice Riza heard ever so often.

"Sciez…ka…?" Riza managed to whisper weakly as she heard the another person tell the young woman to get a lot of hot water. Riza managed to understand that Winry had somehow gotten through to Sciezka and told her to get a doctor and that the doctor was finally here. She smiled weakly to herself relaxed by closing her eyes when the doctor told her too. The door banged open again and surprised Riza, as she opened her eyes and saw Roy rushing in, followed by Sciezka, who had a big bucket of what Riza comprehended to be hot water. Roy gasped silently , and cursed himself for having not been by Riza's side as he came up and took Riza's hand to comfort her while the doctor set up for the birth and told Sciezka to get towels after she put down the bucket.

"Riza! I'm sorry for not being here on time! Doctor! Please tell me my wife's going to be alright," Roy asked hurriedly as Fuery, Havoc, Breda and Falman rushed in all at once but all stumbled at the door in shock when they saw the scene before them.

"She seems to be under a lot of stress right now, so I can't be too sure about her or the baby's condition," The doctor replied emotionlessly as the four men stared blankly at Riza before backing up and leaving the room quietly, nodding to each other in agreement of the decision to wait outside in the hallway, where they bumped into Sciezka, bringing back some towels.

"Sorry, sorry. Please excuse me! Must get these towels to Mrs. Mustang," Sciezka mumbled as a greeting as she passed the men and disappeared into the forbidden room.

"I can't believe it…! Riza Mustang? Giving birth?" Havoc mumbled as he took a puff out of his cigarette. His three companions looked at his quizzically as they sat down in some chairs provided for guests. The room was silent for a moment before Fuery broke it by uttering, "That…was really disturbing wasn't it?"

"There…was a lot of blood," Breda whispered in reply.

"No wonder women complain about men not being sensitive to their feelings. If this is what they go through, I don't blame them," Falman spoke before the hallway went silent away.

The companions sat in silence for a few hours but one would always get up and leave for a few minutes before returning from either the washroom, or from the cafeteria, and bearing food.

It was a little before eight in the morning when the shrill cry of a baby rang through the closed doors of the office, waking up Fuery.

"That was an agonizing sleep," Furey mumbled as he yawned and stretched, stood up, and shook the men sleeping beside him.

"Wake up! The child's here!" Fuery barked. The other three bolted upright in their chairs, Havoc in his armchair, at the mention of the word 'child' and stretched as Havoc asked for the time. Fuery checked his watch before telling him that it had been at least fourteen and a half hours since they stumbled upon Riza giving birth. They all stared at the white office doors.

It was completely silent.

The four co-workers rushed together worriedly towards the door but stopped when they finally heard a sound from the other side of the door. It was the baby, crying again, but stop a few seconds later. The four could clearly the newborn's cries, and gulped as Fuery nervously turned the doorknob. He opened the door slowly and they entered, single file, into the room, and saw a pained, tired, Riza, propped up on the floor against the couch, carrying a little baby with a long cord coming out of it, wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. Sciezka and Roy both breathed a sigh of relief and shivered as the men who just entered cheered and they congratulated their leader on getting his first child. The doctor was cleaning up and Sciezka decided to help her to get her mind off all the blood she saw. The doctor took the baby away from the mother, unwrapped the newborn, and told Riza she was going to give the baby a bath and left with Sciezka to direct her to the bathroom.

"So…what the heck was that cord?" Havoc asked curiously.

"Who cares about that?! Can't you see the Colonel's in pain?!" Breda shouted irritably as he hit Havoc on the head with his hand.

"I'd like to know whether it's a boy or a girl," Fuery said as he ignored them and turned his attention to Roy, who was telling Riza to sleep for a bit.

"It's a girl," Roy replied quietly before turning to look at Fuery and Falman and also ignored Havoc and Breda, who were still arguing.

"Sir, maybe you should rest as well, seeing as you've been up all night," Falman said In a concerned tone of voice.

"That would be nice, but you guys need rest too. Plus, the baby needs a name," Roy said as he sat down beside the sleeping Riza, and lovingly stroked her hair. Everyone, including Havoc and Breda, came over and sat down around him in a semi-circle.

"It's alright. We've kind of already slept for thirteen or so hours during Riza\s labour," Breda told Roy, which received a light punch in the arm from Havoc.

"Hey! Watch it-" Breda shouted before being interrupted by Havoc.

"So all that's left is a name, huh?" Havoc said as he crossed his arms, blocking out Breda's protests.

"What about Abigail? It means 'Father's Joy'," suggested Fuery.

"No! How about Brenda?!" Breda said excitedly, forgetting his earlier trauma.

"I am not giving my daughter the same name as your daughter's. Period," Roy told him firmly.

"Picking a name can prove to be quite a challenge, huh?" Falman remarked.

"Sure is. Now I'm freaking out about my first child's name," Havoc mumbled crossly as he crossed his arms.

"If you ever get a child!" laughed Breda.

"What about…Roza?"

Everyone turned to the person who spoke. They were surprised to see that Riza was awake and had been listening in on their conversation. Roy turned red and quickly stopped stroking Riza's hair.

"What does Roza mean?" Falman asked.

"it means…Rose," Riza replied quietly as she slowly closed her eyes.

"Then Roza it is," Roy replied as he looked at her and smiled to himself.

"Well, I'm glad that's done! Can I leave now, Sir?" Havoc asked as he scratched his head nervously.

"Yes. Can you help me carry Riza on the couch first? I don't want her sleeping on the floor," Roy stated as he stood up and stretched.

"I'll do that for you, Sir," Falman volunteered, just as Sciezka came in.

"Sir? The doctor took your baby to the military hospital, for her to rest," Sciezka told him, as he nodded.

"Thank you, Falman, Sciezka. You're all dismissed, and can have the day off. If you don't mind, can you stop by at the doctor's and check up on Roza for me, a little later? I'm going to lock up and rest on the other couch here," Roy yawned as Falman gently placed Riza on the couch.

"I can do that for you, Sir, since I know where she is," Sciezka said.

"Thank you, Sciezka. You're all dismissed now," Roy told them.

The five people lined up and saluted him. He saluted back and they quietly left the room. Sciezka stopped and said, "I like her name. Roza. It's cute," and stepped out after reciveving Roy's thanks. After everyone left, he fished around in Riza's uniform, took out a key, and locked up the office.

"I could use a nice nap now," Roy slurred sleepily as he laid down on another couch and fell asleep peacefully.

* * *

Alphonse sighed again as he left Pinako back in the work room and went to find Ed and Winry, which wasn't too hard to do.

'_It was always pretty hard to stop them when they fight. If only Ed told her sooner about his broken auto-mail,' _Al sighed thought as he hid himself and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"ARE YOU INSANE?! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS TRYING TO MURDER ME WITH THAT WRENCH?!" Ed shouted as he glared menacingly at Winry.

"IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS DESTROYING MY PRECIOUS WORK! IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HARD I WORK ON THEM!" Winry cried as she hardened her grip on her wrench. Alphonse sighed and decided to interrupt at that moment.

"If you will excuse me, I need to be somewhere," Alphonse spoke up as he appeared and stepped in between his brother and Winry.

"Oh! Sorry Al," Winry apologized.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ed asked. Alphonse ignored him and walked out the door.

'_I hope they stop fighting now,'_ Alphonse thought as he walked down the pathway. He really didn't have any idea where his legs were taking him.

"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" He heard Ed shout. He stopped to eavesdrop again on their argument.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT HE WALKED OUT! SO STOP YELLING AT ME!" Al heard Winry shoot back.

"WELL, IT'S NOT MY FAULT I WORRY!" Ed cried.

"HE'LL BE FINE, SINCE HE'S A LOT SMARTER THAN YOU!" Winry replied.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Ed asked angrily. Al laughed quietly to himself and continued to walk down the road.

"How typical to of them," Al snickered as he continued to walk unconsciously to his destination. He stopped a while later and found himself standing in front of his mother's grave.

"What the…?" Al thought to himself. He looked around shyly and noticed that there was only a girl around his age, standing at another grave, not too far away.

'_Oh, great! I hope I didn't embarrass myself in front of her,' _Al thought glumly. He turned around and stared sadly at his mother's grave quietly.

"If it's flowers you're looking for, I have an extra bouquet,"

Al turned around to see the origins of the voice and his eyes widened at the sight of the girl standing right behind him with a bouquet.

"Oh! Uh…hi!" Al greeted timidly. She smiled at him and handed over the bouquet she held.

"Oh! Sorry if I scared you, but I saw that you didn't have a bouquet with you. You can have my extra. My brother accidentally bought one too many," The girl said with a giggle. Al warily took the flowers and placed them on the grave. The two stood in silence for a while for respect before walking off in awkward silence, before the mysterious girl spoke.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

"It's Alphonse, but you may call me Al. What about you?" Al replied with a smile.

"I'm Lira. I know you don't expect to be talking to someone named after an old type of coin, but it's nice to meet you!" She smiled back as she stuck out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Al said as he took her hand and shook it. They let go and both continued to walk in complete silence.

"Are you new here to Resembool?" She asked again after a while.

"No. Actually…I've lived here since I was born. Which was 16 years ago," Al replied bashfully.

"Really? So you're fifteen? Me too! Well, almost, anyway! I moved here three years ago with my family when I was twelve. My parents thought the country-side air would be better than the city, and in some ways, it really is. My birthday's coming up soon…," Lira said timidly.

"Really? Happy early Birthday! How about I walk you home then?" Al offered.

"Oh! No, it's alright! I actually live close to here," She said politely.

"Oh! Where you on your way home from somewhere then?" Al asked.

"No…I…was visiting my mother…," Lira told him as her face darkened with sadness.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I-" Al apologized.

"It's alright. You don't need to apologize, since we're both in the same boat, having lost someone close…," Lira said sadly as she forced a small smile.

"I know what you mean…both of my parents are gone…," Al told her sadly. Lira's eyes widened as she placed her hand to her mouth in shock, and saying, "Oh, no! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to pry!"

"It's alright…! Hopefully, they're together in that place you call 'heaven'," Alphonse said sadly.

"Uh, speaking of 'places', this is my place. I'd better go. It was nice to meet you Al! Please stop by sometime, since you know where I live! Bye now!" Lira said cheerfully before she ran up the pathway to a light-beige house, and went inside.

"Bye!" Al shouted after her, although he doubted she heard. He continued to walk home, but not without some blush on his face.

'_Lira sure is cute…,'_ Al thought to himself as he dreamily continued to walk back to Winry's place.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**January 20****th****. 2010**

**DISCLAIMER: I do ****not ****own anything belonging to the original Full Metal Alchemist except this [purely] fan-made plot and my OCs, Lira and Roza**

**SURPRISE! Sorry for the ultra-long update time, guys! **

**But here it is! Chapter 4 in the flesh! I'm sorry I took so long to update. Winter Vacation's over, and we're back at school, facing Final Exams and homework all at the same time! Not to mention extra curricular activities! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me? **

**Finally! The Mustang family's baby is here! Roy and Riza are parents! What do you think of the name Roza? ****I swear it is the BEST combo of Roy and Riza's name ever! : )**

**Putting that aside…the surprise for Al is finally here! Lira! My OC! Do you guys think it's too perfect, or random? Especially when she has the same name as a type of coin in European Countries.?**

**Now that's kind of weird! : /**

**I hope their meeting isn't too…uh…how do you say it…? Unoriginal! Corny! Uninspired! Anticipated! Rushed! Intended! Planned! Cliché! Unimaginative! Boring! Dull! Lacking! Unexciting! Maybe even tacky?! : (**

**(Thanks to my thesaurus for these synonyms! : P)**

**What am I saying?! This story is seriously unoriginal! : O**

**OMG. This story's becoming too love-y dove-y, and all of those similar words above!!! Eek! : (**

**If you can, help me with some ideas for future chapters? : )**

**Please don't worry readers! I'll add some fighting and action soon! Within the next chapter or two! **

**I live for action! Okay, maybe I fibbed…**

**BUT:**** I need some time to think of a plot. A good one that won't make you fall asleep like the last few may have. **

**So please stay with me, and watch me progress! : ) **

**I hope you'll forgive me if this chapter seems rushed, or anything. I'll try my best to make the next few chapters exciting! Even if it takes me forever! **

**Okay. Sorry for blabbing a lot. : (**

**See you soon! In Chapter 5!**

**-J. U. T. H. L**

**P.S: Sorry for the lack of a special extra. : ( **

**I [sadly] don't have time for it. Sorry!**

**EDIT: February 23rd. 2010**


	6. Chapter 5: Re Attachment

_**Chapter 5: Re-Attachment**_

"Why, the little scumbag! I've got every right to kill him for this!" Winry sighed crossly as she tinkered away on Ed's damaged arm with her wrench in her little workroom.

She sighed as she mumbled to herself, "At least he only broke his arm this time and not his leg…," as the door creaked opened and Alphonse walked in with a cup of hot steaming coffee on a tray in Winry's most favourite white mug that had her name imprinted on it.

"Here, Winry! I got you some coffee," Al said as he placed the tray down beside her blueprints. Winry paused in her work and took off her safety goggles, and gave Al a small, appreciative smile as he sat in an empty wooden chair beside her.

"Thanks, Al! Welcome back! How kind of you to bring me coffee. I'm going to really need it," Winry commented as she picked up her mug and contently drank her coffee in one swift gulp.

"No problem, Winry. Uh, Winry…? Can I…ask you something?"Al asked shyly.

"Shoot away, Al. I'm all ears," Winry remarked as put her empty coffee mug back on the tray and dusted herself off.

"Do you know a girl named Lira…?" Al asked shyly cautiously. Winry's eyebrows crossed curiously in a playful way as Al's face darkened under the pressure.

"A Lira, hum…? Yes, I do know a Lira, actually! She lives in a little beige house…near the cemetery," Winry remarked as she paused near the end, wondering if she should talk about the cemetery, where the Elric Brothers' mother was buried.

"Yes! There! So you DO know her!" Al exclaimed happily.

"Well, of course I do! But how do you know about her? Considering you disappeared with Al the year she came and you never stayed around much, anyway. Wait...! Why are you asking me about her in the first place?" Winry questioned him as her eyes crossed and her brows knitted in curiosity.

"Oh! I...was just wondering! And..! Um! Sorry...about the whole "leaving-so-soon" thing. I guess I kind of picked up the habit of not staying anywhere long from when…I had my armoured body," Al thought aloud quietly to himself as he tried to ignore Winry's question.

"It's alright. But you never answered my question! How did you meet her?" Winry asked again, with a hint of impatience as her eyes hardened, making Al gulp.

"I…uh…went to the cemetery to visit Mother and, sort of…bumped into her there," Al replied hesitantly as, deep inside, his stomach was being filled with butterflies.

"So that's where you went huh...?" Winry said as her eyes softened and she gently ruffled Al's hair. Al didn't react, since he was used to it, but he looked up at her with sad eyes, which stunned her.

"Winry...please don't tell Brother I went there. You know how sensitive he gets when the topic is about Mother...," Al whispered as he put a finger his lips. Winry sadly smiled knowingly and nodded her head in agreement as Al stood up.

'_This conversation is really getting uncomfortable! I'd better make my exit'_ Al thought to himself.

"I better go now, Winry. I promised Auntie I'd do some errands for her," Al lies as he stood up and prepared to leave the room, walking towards the door.

'Wait...! Al..!" Winry called out.

"Hum?"

"Lira's birthday is coming up in two days and they're going to have a party! I was invited and Lira said I could bring anyone if I wanted too and –"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I was wondering if, maybe, you come with me so I can formally introduce you guys to each other...!" Winry suggested. The room was silent for a while as Al was considering it, but he was nervous, and the idea alone was making him sweat like a pig, but in the end, he nodded his head.

"She already told me her birthday was coming up...so, um...yes. I'll go."

* * *

A pair of feet in sky blue flats walked up the stairway case at the Central Military Hospital and the front doors opened to reveal Sciezka having been the one to walk up the stairs. She shyly looked around, took a deep breath, readjusted her glasses, and boldly walked up to the front desk where a fat looking secretary sat chewing bubblegum.

"Can I help you?" asked the secretary in a plain monotone voice.

"Um! Yeah, I'm here on behalf of the Führer! Can do you direct me to the Women's Health and Paediatrics Division?" Sciezka asked as politely as she could.

"Up the stairs and turn at the left hallway, you'll see an office there. A nurse can direct you from there,"" the secretary replied in her bored monotone voice.

"Thank you," Sciezka said with a smile as she walked past the desk and up the stairs the secretary had indicated. Once at the top, she looked to the left of her and spotted the office the secretary had talked about. She took another breath and walked up to the office, at which sat a more beautiful nurse scribbling away at some paperwork.

"Hi! I'm here on behalf of the Führer...! I...uh...came here to check up on his daughter? Roza Mustang? If that's alright, that is?"

The nurse there looked up from her paperwork at the mention of 'Führer' and smiled politely at Sciezka, before grabbing a folder from a stack beside her and handed it to her.

"If you are here on his behalf, would you give his these registration papers inside this folder for his daughter's birth certificate?" the nurse asked as Sciezka looked at the folder labelled "Roza Mustang" and put it in her purse.

"Of course I will! Thanks for telling me," Sciezka stammered as the nurse stood up and came out to meet her in person.

"Now, please follow me. I shall direct you to the newborn facility," the nurse said as she turned on her heels and walked down the hall, expecting Sciezka to follow her. Sciezka scrambled after the nurse and followed her to another hallway, the walls covered with a long glass window used for viewing the sleeping newborns. The nurse walked and stopped at a spot and motioned for Sciezka to come over. Sciezka walked up quickly to where the nurse was standing and saw that the glass window revealed an adorable little baby girl sleeping in a room on the other side. A nameplate on her crib was inscribed with Roza's name.

"She's so adorable!" Shiezka sighed gleefully as she stared at a tiny sleeping Roza from behind a glass window.

"She is indeed a little cutie isn't she?" the nurse sighed. Sciezka eyeballed the nurse from the corner of her eye and saw the sad gloomy look on the nurse's face. The nurse then suddenly brightened up and smiled at Sciezka as she asked, "Are you of any relation to the Führer?"

"No! Not at all! Just a...sort-of-close-friend! Ha-ha...," Shiezka replied nervously.

"Well then...! Please tell the Führer that his daughter is doing perfectly fine and that she's in a great shape and condition. She should be ready to take home within the week," the nurse said as she smiled, turned on her heels and quickly left the hallway. Sciezka then took out the folder and looked at the documents inside.

"I may not be in the military anymore, but I think I have a right to look," Sciezka mumbled as she flipped through the paperwork.

'_A middle name?' _Sciezka wondered to herself as she looked at the birth certificate registration part of the paperwork. She looked at the little sleeping Roza and back at the paperwork.

"I wonder what he would think of 'Eleanor' for a middle name...?! Or maybe even 'Rita'?" Shiezka thought aloud to herself as she placed the folder back in her purse, waved to Roza and rushed out of the hospital.

* * *

"Sir...? Sir...?! Please wake up!" a voice called out to a sleepy Roy, who was only half awake.

"Go away," Roy grumbled as he hit away the hands that were shaking him.

"But Sir! You have work to do!" the voice hissed. Roy stirred and sat up groggily, mumbling and yawning as he rubbed his eyes. He looked over to see Sciezka still trying to shake him and shrugged her off before yawning.

"How did you get in...?" Roy asked as he stood up and stretched.

"The door was already open, Sir," Sciezka replied as she saluted. Roy saluted back and looked over to check on Riza. His eyes widened as he saw her, awake, with the same doctor who treated Riza during the birth, talking to her.

'_Dr. Clarisse Vida, is that doctor's name, isn't it?'_ Roy thought to himself as he scratched his head and told Sciezka to wait a minute and walked over.

"So how's she doing, doctor?" Roy asked.

"She's doing just fine, Sir. There will be no need to admit her to the hospital seeing as all she needs in rest, and plenty of food and water. She should be up and out of bed by as early as next week," Dr. Vida replied as she stood up and dusted herself.

"That's great to hear. Thank you very much. Doctor,"

"No trouble at all, Sir. I will be back next week for a check up on Mrs. Mustang, but for now, I shall take my leave," the doctor replied as she picked up her bag and left the room silently.

"Sorry. I let the doctor in," Riza whispered as she titled her head up to look at Roy. He gave her a small smile and sat down beside her and Sciezka grumpily sat at the other sofa.

"It's alright. You know, being with a beautiful strong-headed woman like you can really soften a man overtime," Roy sighed as he turned his head to look at Riza.

"Ahem!"

The voice made the couple turn around and finally acknowledge the silent Sciezka, who sat there crossly, holding a small yellow folder.

"Oh sorry, Sciezka. What was it you were about to say a minute ago?" Roy asked with a slight cough to dismiss Riza.

"Well, Sir. I visited the hospital like you asked me too, and the nurse at the 'Paediatrics Division' of the hospital gave me this folder with the birth certificate registration papers. And uh, we did some basic registration at the hospital when I went there with the doctor; so, I already gave them your daughter's name a little earlier because, uh, it was required at the hospital. They already removed her cord as well," Sciezka reported timidly as she handed over the folder to Roy.

"Really? More paperwork?" Roy sighed dejectedly as he opened the folder and flipped through the papers, the words 'Middle Name' catching his eye.

"A middle name, huh?" Roy mumbled to himself.

"A middle name? Roy, let me look at those papers," Riza commanded. Riza's voice snapped Roy out of his own little world and he happily handed the folder to Riza.

"Excuse me? I think I can suggest a name," Sciezka spoke, making both Roy and Riza looked up at Sciezka, standing right in front of them.

"What do you suggest, Sciezka?" Riza asked.

"Well, uh. I was thinking either 'Eleanor' or 'Rita'," Sciezka replied.

"Those are excellent suggestions!" Roy cried as his eyes brightened as he looked over and Riza and the two began to throw out middle names at each other, with a nervous Sciezka standing in between.

"I think…I think I'm just going to go now," Sciezka said to herself as she excused herself from the room and walked towards the door, but was stopped by Riza.

"Wait! Sciezka! Thanks for checking up on Roza," Riza called out.

"No problem! Good bye, now," Sciezka said as she walked out the door, closed it behind her, and walked away from the office.

* * *

"Arg! How long is fixing one darn arm going to take?!" a bored Edward sighed angrily as he lounged around lazily shirtless in his sky blue boxers and on the living room couch.

"Be patient, Brother. Winry's working really hard on your arm. You need to give her a break," Al replied as he entered the room and sat at an armchair across from Ed's couch.

"Oh! Hey, Al! Where did you go just now?" Ed inquired curious.

"I was just out for a walk, Brother. The weather's really nice today, so I decided to take a walk," Al lied as he thought, _'Two lies in one day. That's bad, Alphonse!'_

"Dang weather must have been nice enough if you were taking a walk," Ed huffed.

"Aw, c'mon, Brother! It's not like as if I don't know my way around Resembool! I'm not going to get lost that easily! Does it really bother you than much when I take a small walk outside all alone?" Al asked.

Ed sighed as he tried to sit up, and looked at his brother with sad pained truthful eyes.

"I guess…it's just hard to see you growing up and becoming independent…," Ed whispered as his face darkened with sadness.

"Brother! I might not look like because I'm in my fifteen-year-old body but I'm nineteen now! I think I'm old, responsible and mature enough to take care of myself! I've always been able to since we were little," Al lectured as his eyes crossed unhappily.

'_Huh? I've never known Alphonse to be the serious type...!' _Ed thought worriedly in his head as he stared at the alien who appeared and claimed to be his brother. Ed now seriously thought something must have happened to Al's human body while Al's soul was attached to the armour!

"Who are you and what have you done to my brother?!" Ed whispered hoarsely to a confused looking Al.

"Brother! What are you talking about...?" Al asked, confused. Ed just sighed and shook his head sadly.

'_He's really growing up...,'_ Ed thought sadly as he said to Al, "It's nothing. Just...ignore what I said. Sorry Al, I must be really sleepy since I didn't sleep much last night,"

"It's alright, Brother," Al replied as his eyes softened.

"I'm going to take a nap, so maybe you should go and help Auntie for a bit," Ed suggested as he grabbed a blanket randomly lying on the other end of the couch.

"Fine...I will," Al said dejectedly as he stood up and left the room. Ed yawned pulled the blanket over his cold body as he laid down and closed his eyes.

'_What's wrong with me...?'_ He thought before sleep took over and he drifted off into a dreamless nap.

* * *

It had been nearly three hours and Winry was still tinkering away with her wrench on Ed's arm in her little workroom, which was nearly complete. She smiled at the thought of Ed freaking out during the re-attachment of the arm, for he always hated that part because of the "mini" shock he always felt whenever his metal arm connected with his nerves.

"Now I just need this bolt, and this nail and Ed's arm should be fixed! Hmmm...! There!" Winry mumbled to herself, satisfied as she put her wrench down. She took her safety goggles off and stretched and Al walked in again.

"Al! Hey! Good timing! Do you know where Ed is? His arm is done!" Winry said as she walked up to Al and gave him a small smile.

"He's been sleeping in the living room for the past three hours," Al replied. Winry sighed and shrugged.

"Looks like I'm going to have to wake him up," Winry mumbled as she walked past Al towards the door, before she was stopped by Al.

"Winry...! Wait!" Al called out, making her turn around and look curiously at Al.

"What is it Al?"

"I...may need help picking out something for Lira's party...so...will you help me find something to wear?" Al asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Winry smiled knowingly and nodded as e replied, "Sure, after I attach Ed's arm to his body, okay? I promise!"

Al nodded and smiled as he followed Winry out of the little workroom towards the living room where Ed currently slept. They both walked in and found Ed had fallen off the sofa in his sleep. Al shook his head and sighed as Winry slapped her hand to her forehead in disgust before she walked up, bent down, and shook Ed as she yelled, "Wake up, you idiot!" Ed woke up with a start, startled and stared groggily at Winry.

"What...who...? Is it time for dinner?" Ed asked sleepily as he tried to sit up, making Winry sigh as Al came over and helped him stand up.

"Ed. You're arm's been fixed and I'm going to re-attach it now!" Winry snapped as the words, 'Arm', 'Fixed', and 'Re-attach' brought him back down to Earth and he became fully awake.

"Wait....! What?! Right now?!" Ed cried in shock as Al and Winry dragged him back to the workroom, where the arm lay, waiting for its owner.

"Lay down on that bed!" Winry ordered as Ed scrambled over to the only bed available in the workroom and laid down, nervous.

"I'm going to leave now," Al said as he walked out leaving his protesting brother and childhood friend behind. Winry put on his apron and safety goggles as got set up for the attachment procedure.

"Isn't there some way this part can be painless...?" Ed asked uncertainly. Winry smiled mischievously and shook her head.

"Sorry, Ed. You're going to have to get used to this someday," Winry snickered as she dusted off the arm, and Ed shivered with pure fear and pain. Winry sat down in a chair she set up beside Ed's bed and Ed prayed that he wouldn't die from the pain.

"Okay. Get ready for attachment in three...two...one!" Winry counted down and then connected the arm to Ed's shoulder, giving a satisfied 'click' as it made Ed feel the small jolt and yelped.

"There! You're all done!" Winry said as she stood up and dusted herself before taking off her safety goggles and took off her apron. Ed instantly sat up and tried moving his arm. It moved at first try, without any difficulty, but it definitely felt different.

"It should feel lighter. This arm is almost like Northern auto-mail, strong but light," Winry explained as she put her arm to her hips and looked at Ed happily.

"Yeah...it does feel lighter...! Besides the re-attachment pain, thanks again, Winry. Just put the cost of this arm on my tab!" Ed said as he stood up and ran out of the room.

"Geez! First thing he always does is leave me to clean up his mess," Winry mumbled to herself as she shook her head and started to clean up her workroom

"Hey! Al! There you are!" Ed called out as he bumped into his brother outside Winry's workroom.

"Brother! How's the arm?" Al asked nervously. Ed moved his right arm in a circle to show Al that his arm was fixed and he smiled at Al.

"Yeah...it's all done. Now how does a little training sound, Al?"

"Um...sorry, Brother. I already made plans with Winry," Al said apologetically as he excused himself and went inside the workroom, leaving a shocked Ed behind. Ed's eyes widened with surprised before he sulked off towards the living room.

Meanwhile, Al walked into the room and found an angry Winry glowering around and huffing about Ed's immaturity as she cleaned up.

"Winry?" Al called out as he tried to catch her attention. Winry looked up from putting away Ed's arm blueprints and stared at Al.

"Hello, Al! Sorry, just give me a minute to clean up," Winry huffed.

"Oh! Are you busy right now?" Al asked. A light bulb went on in Winry's head and she instantly remembered what she has promised Al.

"Oh right! You're outfit for the party! Uh, sorry Al. Just give me a minute to finish cleaning up this mess and I'll be right there to help you find an outfit!" Winry said as she stuffed a bunch of her tools into a silver case. Winry was just about to put the case back into its place when Al suddenly came over and took the case away from her and asked, "Here. I'll help you with that. Where does this case go?"

"Oh! Uh! The case goes over there in that corner," stammered a surprised Winry before she smiled to herself.

After the two finished cleaning up five minutes, they both left the room and Winry thanked Al as they walked up the stairs to the room Ed and Al shared whenever they came back to the little yellow house.

"So, what do you have to wear?" Winry asked as they walked into the room. Al pulled out a few items of clothing he owned and presented them to Winry. She looked through them and got Al to change into a few things a few times – While she was out of the room of course – and about half an hour later, Winry had decided on an outfit that she liked best and showed it to Al.

"I like this shirt with this pair of pants best, Al. What do you think?" Winry asked as she held up the shirt against Al, who looked at it for about ten seconds and nodded his head.

"I like this outfit too! Thanks, Winry!" Al said happily. Winry smiled at the happy look on Al's face and patted his back.

"No problem, Al. I'm glad I was able to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go start dinner!" Winry said as she waved and ran out of the room, leaving Al to stare happily at his outfit.

'_If only Ed could see him now! He really is growing up huh?'_ Winry thought to herself as she went down the stairs, giggling and thinking of the happy content look on Al's face.

It was one look she would definitely never, ever forget.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**March 10****th****. 2010**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BELONGING TO FULL METAL ALCHEMIST. IT'S OWNED BY MORE IMPORTANT PEOPLE/COMPANIES. **

**I DO OWN:**

**1. The [purely fan-made] plot **

**2. My OCS: Lira, Roza Mustang, and Clarisse Vida **

***** No last name for Lira yet!**

**Maybe it'll be Hampton? Or Kellam?**

**I just love strange unique names~! *****

**To any of you that have been awaiting his chapter, I apologize. I've been busy and have had many things on my mind, but I'm finally done it! **

**I'll admit I actually thought nobody would read this junk I write, but thanks to a certain someone (Mikano Zirake is the Pen Name on Fan fiction) I've got the courage to continue writing this!**

**Plus, I also plan on writing other things! Check out my profile to see what crazy ideas I'm coming up with!! **

**Again, I apologize for the lateness, because I intended to upload this chapter yesterday but I had to go to bed and all. **

**I'm actually uploading this through the Library I go to, because I'm not at home right now. **

**Ha! Beat that, you librarian suckers! : )**

**Joke Jokes. I love the library! It's the best place to be when you need a good book or a quiet place to study. **

**But sometimes, libraries really do have their complicated moments. **

**I really, really love this keyboard I'm using! It makes me feel like I can type ten times faster than I usually do!**

**Sorry folks, but because I'm feeling really lazy and tired at the moment, this author note (or rant if you wish to call it that) is going to have to be cut short but it WILL get updated (Hopefully?)! **

**REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE ON FUTURE CHAPTERS!**

**So for now, BYE!**

**-- J. U. T. H. L **

**P.S: I apologize again for not having a special. Maybe next time, thought! So, please forgive me dear readers. **


	7. Chapter 6: Back to Work

_**Chapter 6: Back to Work?!**_

It had nearly been an hour and a half since Winry re-attached Ed's arm to his body, and nearly an hour since Winry helped Al pick out an outfit for Lira's birthday party two days from now, and Winry was finally done cooking dinner.

"Gran? Can you call Al down? He should be done with his shower!" Winry shouted towards Pinako's private workroom down the hall.

"Alphonse! Dinner's ready!" Pinako shouted upstairs from her workroom before going towards the kitchen, where Winry was putting the final touches to a certain dish. Al ran in, fresh and wet from his shower, wearing pajamas and a towel around his neck.

"Should I go wake up Brother?" Al asked as he took off the towel and dried his wet hair.

"No. You go put that towel away and help Gran set up the table. I'll go wake up Ed," Winry ordered as she put a few dishes on the table.

"Okay!" Al shouted after her as she left the kitchen as Winry came bursting into the living room, yelling at Ed to wake up for dinner, but Ed, surprisingly, was already awake, stretching and yawning without her having told him too.

"Why, Ed?! Why is it that when you smell food after a nap, it's all 'Food? Yay! Food!', but when you have to wake up for an arm re-attachment, you always start freaking out and complaining!" Winry hissed angrily as she whacked Ed's head with her wrench and stormed off towards the kitchen.

"Ow! What was that for?! And I do NOT always complain and freak out!" Ed yelled after her, but had doubts that she had heard him. He grumbled to himself, stood up and followed Winry to the kitchen, where Winry was putting the dinner dishes on the table and Al and Pinako were finishing up setting up the table.

"Winry! What the heck did you hit me on the head again for?!" Ed cried as he stomped into the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Winry, and glared, making Al and Pinako stare at him strangely.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Winry replied calmly before she turned her back to him to get another dish to put on the table. Ed mumbled something about Winry being a work-a-holic, making Winry snap and turn around to point her wrench at him threateningly.

"Edward! Go wear proper pants and a shirt and then maybe you can think about joining us at the table!" Winry shouted. Ed gulped as he saw her veins pulsing with anger and nervously left the kitchen to go upstairs to put on some clothes. As Ed came down the stair with some proper clothes, the phone rang.

"I've got it!" Ed shouted and he ran down the stairs and went to the phone.

"Hello? Rockbell Residence. Edward speaking," Ed spoke into the receiver in a bored monotone voice.

"Good. Full-Metal. It's you," a voice Ed would never forget said on the other side of the phone.

"Führer Mustang...," Ed said in a hostile tone into the phone to Roy.

"Yes, I know. I'm calling personally from my office to remind you that the grace period I gave you is over, as of tomorrow. It's time for you to come back to work," Roy replied, ignoring Ed's hostility as he spoke.

"Wait...! WHAT?! Hey! Wait a minute! Just because you're bribing me with a dumb promotion to Colonel, I'm pretty sure that big loud mouth of yours said I was allowed a week off for vacation before I was required to come back to Central!" Ed shot back, clearly very angry.

"Look, Ed. There's not much time...-"

"Time for WHAT, exactly?! Look, mister! Just because you're the damn Führer, it doesn't give you the right to shorten people's vacations and randomly call them back to work for no reason! If you like to bring people back to work for no reason then good bye! I very busy! Call back when the week's over!" Ed shouted, about to slam the phone down when he was stopped by Roy.

"Wait! Edward! I do have a reason! There's something going on at Central and I want you to investigate. I know I said I'd give you a week off, considering you just got back and all, but these strange incidences have all been happening this morning and it's putting me on an edge! It's just too much of a coincidence because…-" Roy hissed before he was interrupted by Ed.

"Because what?! Spit it out already!"

"I think it's got something to do with the Homunculus and the Gate. I can't be too sure, but I think someone's planning something very lethal, and I can't tell you over the phone. It's just too dangerous because you never know who's listening on us," Roy whispered.

Ed stiffened as his eyes widened with shock and both men were silent for a while before Ed replied quietly, "Expect me there in a day or so. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

* * *

"You're WHAT?!" Winry and Al cried together.

"I…uh...need to go back to Central, tomorrow. The Führer needs me there, so I'm leaving first thing in the morning," Ed repeated nervously for the second time that evening. Winry's face darkened at the news as she looked away but looked up again immediately at Ed with a sad supportive smile.

Everyone was finished dinner - with a surprise of apple pie for dessert - and the three were lounging in the living room while Pinako was continuing to work on whatever she was doing in her private workroom.

"You sure are busy, huh, Ed?" Winry commented as she tried her best to look happy for Ed, but Ed had already noticed the sad looks Winry tried so hard to hide and sighed to himself.

"He will be, if he gets the promotion to become Colonel!" Al remarked quietly to himself. Winry's eyes widened as Ed waved his hands back and forth like a maniac to try and stop Al from revealing anything else any further.

"A...a...WHAT?! Edward Elric! How could you?! You never told me about any promotion!" Winry shouted quizzically as she stood up and glared at Ed menacingly, making Ed shrink back in his chair with fear.

"Oh! I uh, forgot! Honestly! I'm sorry!" Edward stammered nervously as he tried to hide himself from Winry so he wouldn't get hurt by her wrench.

"Ha! Yeah right! How could you possibly forget?! It's just that you never want to tell me anything, isn't it?! You two are always keeping secrets from me!" Winry shot back angrily, in a voice that was obviously hurt.

"Wait! I'm sorry, Win! Really! I am, but I've got to go pack up and go to bed now," Ed said as he stood up and tried to calm her down, before she disappointedly hit his hand away and stomped madly out of the room, leaving Ed and Al to gawk in her wake.

"Uh, sorry about that, Brother. I'll go talk to her," Al said as he stood up and went after the angry Winry.

Ed sighed sadly, slumped back down in his chair, buried his face in his hands and mumbled, "Oh, god. When will this madness ever end...?"

* * *

Ed woke up groggily the next morning to the alarm clock he borrowed from Al, the events of last night still fresh in his mind as he got out of bed and left the room quietly, to let Al continue sleeping. It was about sunrise and although Ed may not have been a morning person, once he was awake, he was always ready to go. As he walked towards the bathroom, he stopped at Winry's slightly opened bedroom door. He peaked through the opening, and saw her sleeping soundly in her bed and smiled sadly to himself before walking away to the bathroom. This time, there were no interruptions.

Once done with his business in the bathroom, he went back to his room, changed as quietly as he could, picked up his suitcase and left the room once again. Walking as noiselessly as he could, he went down the stairs and scribbled down two notes before walking out the front doors, shielding his eyes from the bright sunrise with his hands as he began to sprint down the front path towards the train station. Once at the station about 10 minutes later, he bought a ticket and dashed on the train, sitting in his seat to catch his breath as he put his suitcase on the ground and laid back, waiting for the train to leave. As expected, a minute later, an announcement came on, warning everyone to get on the train before it left for Central within two minutes.

The train whistle blew exactly two minutes later, as expected, making Ed sigh with boredom and he sat back in his seat and waited for the ride to be over.

Ed was finally on his way to back Central City.

* * *

Al woke up the next morning to the smell of sweet black Tea. He looked over in the bed his brother was supposed to be sleeping in but saw that it was empty and that Ed had actually made his bed, registering in his head that Ed had left.

Al sad up and went down the stairs, his nose following the scent of the black tea, and saw Winry, whistling a tune in the kitchen without a care in the world, standing before the stove with the kettle on.

"Uh...Winry...?" Al called out, catching Winry's attention and making her turn around, finally noticing that he had just come in.

"Oh! Good morning, Al. I didn't see you there. I hope you like black tea. Gran does," Winry smiled sweetly as she got back to brewing the tea.

"Yes, please. It smells really sweet. May I have a cup?" Al asked as he sat at the table.

"Sure. Just let me finish brewing it. We're going to have to be a little quieter, since Gran's sleeping. By the way, Al, what would you like for breakfast?" Winry asked.

"I'll just have some oatmeal, thanks," Al replied as he stretched and waited for his oatmeal.

"Alright, then. I guess I'll have some too, since I haven't eaten yet. Hey, Al?"

"Yes Winry?"

"Ed left both you and I a note," Winry said emotionlessly as she walked over from the stove and passed Al a folded slip of paper marked "To Alphonse" scribbled down in Ed's familiar handwriting, which read:

"_**Alphonse, **_

_**Don't worry about me. I'll be back from Central in a few days. **_

_**I've been doing a lot of thinking before we got back through the gate, and considering that it's summer, kids your age have a break from school. I know I made you go to school back Germany, and I know you hated it, but now that we're back and that you're (somewhat) 15 again, I'm thinking of getting you into an alchemy school, or any school you like. If I even accept that promotion, your education isn't going to be a problem, besides the ride there. **_

_**I'll talk to you more about it when I get back. I don't know when since that stupid Mustang will let me come back to Resembool . So until then, stay safe. Protect Granny Pinako and Winry from strangers. I'm leaving it up to you while I'm away.**_

_**Ed."**_

'_How mean! You even say you know I hate school! Oh well. School, huh? Haven't been there in a while, but how unusual of Brother to leave me a note?' _Al thought as he folded up the note and put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks, Winry. I guess Ed really did leave already. So where's your note?"

"Huh?" Winry asked, confused as she looked up at Al with a quizzical look.

"Your note? From Brother?" Al repeated, trying his best to hide his annoyed inside.

"Oh! That! Uh, it's, um, somewhere," Winry replied hesitantly after a few seconds while she started making the oatmeal for their breakfast.

"Can I read it?" Al asked, before seeing Winry's face flush red as she shook her head and continued to mix the contents she had dumped into a pot before replying, "You can read it later, after breakfast, Al."

Deep inside, Al was actually expecting Winry to have said no, and was quite surprised by her answer but didn't say anything as he silently stood up and helped Winry.

About an hour later, Winry and Al had eaten their oatmeal, and cleaned the dishes; Al decided to ask her again before she got away.

"Hey! Winry!"

"Yes, Al?"

"Can I read the note now?"

Seeing the pleading, sad look in his eyes, Winry decided to give in, sighed, pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket before handing it to Al. Al smiled mischievously and opened the note, quickly scanning it to see what it said:

"_**Winry, **_

_**I'm sorry about last night. I meant to tell you about my promotion a little before I got I was ordered to come back to Central, but I knew it would upset you knowing I'd be away again, and you know I hate it when you cry. Win, you're strong, and I know you can make it through whatever challenges you face, and Al will be with you. So please don't worry too much about me. I promise to come back as soon as I can. I'll keep in contact whenever I can. Just have a freshly baked apple pie ready for me by the time I come back in a few days, and I'll bring you a souvenir! **_

_**Ed."**_

Al stared at the paper for a few minutes before folding up the note and giving it back to her, who had been waiting silently and patiently with a darkened face beside him. Al felt something was wrong and was about to try and put his hand on her shoulder to console her before she shrugged it off like a bug.

"Thanks for returning my note, Al," Winry mumbled quietly before she turned on her heals and walked away, leaving Al speechless.

Little did he know that Winry was trying to hide the sad tears flowing silently down her face like a waterfall.

* * *

It was nearly three in the morning and Ed's train had just arrived at Central City. Ed stumbled off the train recklessly with his suitcase, and yawned from a lack of sleep due to the stress of leaving a certain someone behind yet again for work. He looked around to see if anyone was there to greet him, but it was too dark to see, even though there were tons of people there bustling about and waiting for their [very early] trains to arrive. Surprisingly, Ed felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly flashed into defence mode and flipped around to see who tapped him and his eyes widened at the sight of Major General Armstrong gleaming brilliantly behind him. Ed sighed pathetically and decided to let his guard down before his veins pulse and his eyes slit angrily.

"Hey! What's your deal, going around and scaring people at three in the morning?!" Ed shouted furiously as he glared at the Major General.

"Oh, sorry Edward! I didn't mean to scare you," the Major replied as he bent down and patted Ed on the back, making Ed even angrier than usual, causing him to swat the Major's hand away.

_'How can this guy __NOT__ be tired?!'_ Ed hissed furiously inside his head before he suddenly felt like someone was watching him, and sneakily looked around to see who. Unfortunately, for Ed, he wasn't able to see a suspicious character at all. Major noticed his strange actions and looked at Ed curiously before asking, "What's wrong, Edward?"

Edward motioned for the Major to lean in and whispered to the Major, "I think someone is watching us, so watch your back!"

Major General Armstrong perked up at the news and nodded silently as he began to quickly direct Ed away from the station and what he thought was away from danger. Sadly, he was wrong, and Edward still felt uneasy inside. His hunch was proved correct when he saw some dark figure moving towards them from the corner of his eyes.

'_I was right! Someone really is following us!'_ Ed thought rashly as he quickly tried to come up with an escape plan in his head. He looked at the Major, seeing that he too noticed the shadowy figure as they were reaching the area where the pickup car and sleepy chauffer were awaiting them.

"C'mon, Major! Someone really is following us! Let's get out if here while we can!" Ed whispered. The uneasiness in Ed's voice didn't go unnoticed, making Alex nod and continue to drag Ed along with him to the car. They just about reached the car when the figure appeared right in front of them, stopping them from getting to the pickup car, away from him.

'_Shit! We're so dead!'_ Edward thought with fear as he and Alex skidded to a stop and got prepared to fight their new hidden nemesis.

* * *

A gloomy Winry sat on her bed in her little bedroom, staring blankly at Ed's note, her seemingly never-ending tears falling on top of the paper, making the words become blurry. Winry herself though didn't notice as her eyes swelled up and her vision became blurry and wiping them away wouldn't have done any good. She folded up the note and placed it on her bedside table, wrapping herself in her blanket to stop her quivering and shaking. Remembering Ed's promise to never make her cry tears of sadness, and her brows crossed as she mumbled, "You're such a liar, Edward...!"

A knock sounded on her door, and opened, even after Winry shouted to go away, to reveal Al's head. This time however, he didn't miss the woman's tears.

"Winry...? Are you alright?" Al asked worridly as he let himself into her room.

"I'm...fine. Please go away...and tell Gran I'm not going to work today since I'm tired," Winry blubbered as she turned her head away from Al. Al's face showed a worried expression as he said he would and left Winry to go find Pinako, who was tinkering away in her workroom as usual.

"Auntie Pinako? Are you here?" Al asked as he again let himself into the room. Pinako stopped her work and turned around to face Al and ask, "What is it, Al?"

"I...I need to talk to you...!"

* * *

"Huh?! It's YOU?!" Ed shouted with surprise at the figure that had just appeared in front of him and Major General Alex Armstrong.

"Yah, you two can sure run fast! It took me forever to catch up to you and my disguise was almost uncovered," Roy Mustang panted as he tried to catch his breath and fix up his so-called 'disguise'.

"Führer Mustang! What are you doing here?!" Alex asked with shock as he straightened himself up. Roy looked up sheepishly and stood up, dusting himself off as he mumbling, "I wanted to make sure everything was okay. You can't be sure with the kind of people around these days."

"Humph, yah right! I can't believe you, scaring us like that!" Ed shouted in an irritated tone of voice as he crossed his arms. Roy put up a finger to his lips as a way to hush them up as he replied, "Get in the car before we cause a commotion! I'll explain on the way."

The other two men looked at each-other, and having decided to obey him, quickly got into the car. Roy also swiftly followed them after having told the chauffer the location. Without delay, having known who Roy actually was, the young sleepy chauffer hastily closed the car door after the three, got into the driver's seat, started the engine and abruptly drove off down the dark road.

"So, can you tell me what's happening?" asked Ed as he started murderously at Roy.

"Yes, please do, sir!" Alex chimed in.

"We have a really bad situation here," replied Roy hauntingly, "There have been numerous reports of people disappearing for three days and then they appear dead in their very own bedroom....!I've only heard of it this morning of course."

"What? So you want me to catch a murderer?! You told me this had to do with the gate and the Homunculus!" Ed cried with fury. Roy looked at Ed mysteriously before replying, "It does....because there are alchemy circles left on the bodies of the victims...and it's the same Ouroboros mark the homunculi bear."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**April 26****th****. 2010**

**Hey guys! Fellow Writers! Fellow Readers! Whatever you want me to call you! I'm back and I'd like to finally say: HERE IS CHAPTER 6! IT'S FINALLY DONE! THREE CHEERS FOR ME! I AM THE GREATEST! **

**  
HIP! HIP! HOORAY!**

**HIP! HIP! HOORAY!**

**HIP! HIP! HOORAY! **

**No seriously, I am NOT the greatest! : )**

**Sorry if I fooled you! ):**

**AND SORRY THAT THIS IS A LITTLE LATE! ****I've been really busy with school and stuff lately...!! Sorry!! (And sorry for making Ed swear) ****Just for that, I tried making this chapter a bit longer than usual!!**

**NOTE: MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PUBLISH CHAPTER 7 UNTIL AFTER MID MAY TO JUNE!!! PLEASE CHECK MY PROFILE FOR UPDATES ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING!!!! THANK YOU!!!**

**THIS IS THE CHAPTER WHERE THE ALCHEMY AND FIGHTING BEGIN! YAY! AS I PROMISED, I'M ABOUT TO START A FIGHT! WHEE! FIGHT SCENE! FIGHT SCENE!**

**And Ed's one week vacation is over! How sad! If you remember, in Chapter 2, Roy gave Ed a nice one week vacation before Roy went to a meeting and Ed left to go see Gracia and Elicia and then go back to Resembool! **

**And BY THE WAY: You'll find out what Lira's last name is in the next chapter! The birthday party! **

**And you'll also find out how Ed and Al were able to come back! ****(I think. That might not be revealed until I could think of HOW!) **

**So look forward to that! And look forward to chapter 7, which will include ****Lira's 15th birthday party! Yay! Yay! **

**Anyways! I'm ending this rant now! So…ADIOS AMIGOS! ****OR AMIGAS! PLEASE READ THE SPECIAL!! **

**It's Detective Conan/Case Closed inspired!! **

**SO CYA SOON FRIENDS OR WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO CALL Y'ALL FOLKS! : )**

**SEE YOU SOON!**

**Until Next Time!**

**Ciao!**

**--J. U. T. H. L**

* * *

**EXTRA BONUS: **

**Detective Inspired SPECIAL! Part 1 *Detective Conan/Case Closed inspired****

**Author: This scene takes place backstage after this chapter…let's see what happens!**

**Edward: *sigh* ****Why me? ****I don't WANT ****to be a Colonel! Then I have to do all that cruddy paperwork that cheap ****and dirty ****Mustang's doing all the time!**

**Roy: *glares at Ed* WHAT did you ****just ****say?**

**Ed: *gulps* NOTHING! ****Honestly!**

**Riza****: Roy, just ignore him! Edward! ****Winry needs to see you.**

**Roy: *sulks off towards Riza***

**Ed: *phew!***** *Goes to Winry***

**Ed: What is it Winry?**

**Winry: *sniffles* Oh, Ed! It's horrible! Someone stole Al's party outfit costume****!**

**Ed: Which costume? Wait****?! What party! That wasn't in the script!**

**Winry: The outfit I picked out for Al in chapter 4 for Lira's party? ****Oh yeah! The director changed a bit of the scenes you weren't in and you probably didn't hear about it! So you probably also didn't know that Al's supposed to-**

**Director: *angry voice from far-a-way* WINRRRRYYYY!!!!!**

**Winry: *Gulps* Opps…! Almost said a spoiler…Hehe…*shivers***

**Ed: *laughs nervously* Oh! That outfit!**

***Al appears***

**Al: *sad voice* I looked everywhere! I just can't find the costume!**

**Ed: *confindent look* It's alright Al! Cause….!**

***Ed pulls off his clothes to reveal a hidden detective outfit being worn underneath and pulls out a magnifying glass!***

**Ed: Detective Edward Elric is ON THE CASE! **

**Author: WHO STOLE AL'S PARTY OUTFIT COSTUME….THING?! WILL ED ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE CASE? WILL AL GET HIS COSTUME BACK AND GO TO THE PARTY? WILL ROY GET TO PUMMEL ED FOR CALLING HIM CHEAP AND DIRTY?**

**FIND OUT NEXT TIME IN…Detective SPECIAL! Part 2 ~!!!! **


	8. Important Notice: Please Read

Important Notice from the Author

Hi there everyone. This is J.U.T.H.L here.

_**I hope you will read this notice because it's very very important!**_

I wanted to make a public apology for the delay of 'New Detective in Town' and 'FMA: The Return' and for not updating you with my status so you know what I'm currently up too. I would like to announce that I'm finally back after about a period of a year or so. I'm currently extremely motivated after having read a ton of other fan-fictions so I'm going to write as much as can in the so little time I've got. I really need better time management skills! I promise to try my best fro now on!

**THIS MESSAGE MAY GET REMOVED WITHIN A COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO. **

I hope you'll all understand that I've been EXTREMELY busy lately, with school, homework and friends and such, and having to deal with all this is a pain but it's something everyone must suffer through and that is the reason for this EXTREME delay.

I'm doing my best to fit in time to do everything but my to-do list keeps getting bigger. I think I slack off and procrastinate too much and that affects things. Oops. I think I'd better start re-prioritizing and re-organizing my life, which is why I have a whole bunch of calendars pinned up in my room!

__

**BELOW ARE LITTLE ANNOUCMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL SERIES**

* * *

Full Metal Alchemist: The Return

First things first, Chapter 7 is partly done. It's currently going through an editing phase and _**WILL BE RELEASED THIS UPCOMING WEEKEND**_! I know right? Finally!

You readers must be thinking: "OH MY F**KING GOD! SHE'S FINALLY DONE THAT ONLY TOOK, LIKE, WHAT? A YEAR?"

Again, I apologize but this brings me to my next point and it's quite important!

**I am planning on re-doing parts of certain chapters because I feel like I've really messed up on them and could make them better. Really. I'm not re-doing the WHOLE story. Just enough of it to make it BETTER. I will announce what chapters have been fixed before re-releasing them and hope you will read it. Thank you for your reviews and I hope you'll stick and bear with me! **

* * *

New Detective in Town

Sadly, I have NOT finished the chapter. It's barely done, but at least I started. Months ago. Sorry about that.

There was a review from the user _**cheerysmile**_ asking for a romance between my OC [Keichiru Tsumari~ Last & First Name] and Conan. My reply would have been a "no" since I intended for this to be a RanShin [Get it? Get it? RanXShinichi? Get it? Aw, nevermind! You don't do you?] Story but I may add tidbits because this gives me ideas for my story that will probably help me form my plot. Thank you for your kind reviews and I'm glad you like the prologue but it may be a while before I upload actual chapters. After all, multi-tasking's really hard!


	9. Chapter 8: Cupid's Arrow

_**Chapter 7: Cupid's Arrow**_

Silence. That was all that could be heard before Ed broke it.

"What…? Are you joking? You're telling me there are Ouroboros markings on the corpses? You should've told me this earlier!" Ed hissed at Roy in a tone that said he didn't quite believe him, yet showed fear and resentment.

"That's correct, Full-Metal. That's what the reports from all our investigations say," replied Roy answered emotionlessly, making Ed glare at him before saying, "Fine, I'll look into it, but I can't make any promises about solving this case! I'm no freaking detective!"

"Yet, I assume you've have to deal with a lot of dead bodies in order to get the body Alphonse has now, right?" Roy countered before smiling. Ed's eyes dimmed as he sighed, knowing he'd been beaten and laid back on the car seat.

"Sir! I believe Edward needs more information on this assignment," Armstrong said.

"Ah, yes, that's right Major General. It's a good thing you reminded me, since I completely forgot that I've prepared a folder. Here," Roy replied as he handed Ed a beige folder stuffed with papers inside.

"Edward, you'll be expected to look over all the items in this folder, for you start tomorrow afternoon. Someone will come pick you up to take you towards the various crime scenes," Roy told Ed as the car came to a sudden halt in front of Central's Military Dormitory. The chauffeur quickly got out from the driver's seat and opened the door.

"Ed, your stop's here. You'll find the key to your usual dorm room at the front desk. Now, I've got a pushy wife to get back to, so good night, Full Metal," Roy said as he gently started pushing Ed out of the car.

"Hey! Stop pushing! I can get out myself! Do you want your baby to see you as a beat up pulp she gets out of the hospital?" Ed shouted before he got out, pulling his suitcase after him. He slammed the car door and looked behind himself in time to hear the car starting up again and slowing beginning to drive off.

Ed sighed gloomily, grumbling harsh curses at Roy to himself as the car sped off down the dark night. He watched the car turn a corner, and started to trudge up the front steps of the building, thinking, _'__Jerk__…__!__Even __after __becoming __a __dad, __he __hasn__'__t __changed __at __all! __He__'__s __still __forcing __others __to __do __his __dirty __work! __I__'__ll __look __over __the __darn __folder __tomorrow! __I __need __my __sleep!__'_

Entering the front door of the Central Commands HQ, Ed walked up to the front desk, and grabbed the keys laying there beside a small slip of paper marked '_Edward __Elric_'. He walked up the stairs towards the dorms and opened the door to his too familiar room, falling instantly onto the bed after dumping his suitcase by the door, closing his eyes and giving in to sleep and not even caring to change.

* * *

Winry woke up a little half past nine to a chipping bird, and stretched before getting out of bed. It was finally the day of a special event and Winry was excited as she got up and rushed to the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. On the way, she stopped by Al's room and knocked on his door.

"Al? You up yet?" Winry asked

"Don't worry! I'm up!" she heard him call from the other side of the door. She called back an acknowledgment and left for the bathroom. When she got back to her bedroom, she began bustling about and dressing herself up and creating quite a ruckus in the house. A little while later, Winry finally came down the stairs in a nice white dress shirt and celadon flowing knee-length skirt.

"Winry, you didn't fully iron your skirt," Pinako said as she inspected Winry's outfit. Winry, never thinking that her grandmother would be so demanding, looked at her skirt and replied, "I don't see anything wrong with it, Gran."

Pinako pointed to the hem, showing Winry a small wrinkle there as Al walked in, fresh from his shower and wearing the outfit Winry helped him pick out a couple of days ago.

"Oh! Alphonse! You look splendid! I knew that outfit would look great on you! You just need a few more touches...," Winry said as she went over to Al and started fixing his hair, as she was happy that she was able to get away from her grandmother. Al tried gently taking her fussy hands away as he told her he didn't need his hair to be fixed.

"Aw! Come on! Just a little..!"

"It's okay! I really don't –,"

"Fine! Must all you Elrics be like this? I was only trying to help," she grumbled as she let go of Al's hair and glared. Al looked sadly after her as she began to walk away. He knew he had to make it up to her somehow and he had to do it now before the party, or else she might ruin the mood there. That was the last thing he wanted. He went after her, knowing full well what he had to do in order to cheer her up..

"Wait!" Al shouted as he grabbed her arm. She turned around, still holding on to her angry expression with her hands on her hips.

"What?" asked his frustrated friend as she crossed her arms across her chest. Alphonse could tell she was really upset and he felt extremely guilty. He wasn't the type to make girls sad, least of all his own childhood friend.

"I'm sorry…I know you were just trying to help, but you know I don't like making a fuss of things. Will you wait for a bit? I'll make it up to you..!" Al said to her before turning around and running off towards the kitchen with a baffled Winry staring off curiously after him.

* * *

Ed woke up, yawning as he stretched and go out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and groggily looked around, trying to remember where he was before it all came back to him. Ed remembered Roy giving him an assignment and looked at the clock. It said the time was nearly noon. Ed sighed and went to look for the folder he received last night. Going to the kitchen, he got himself a cup of water before there was a knock on his door. Ed stared angrily at the wooden opening before walking over and unlocking it to reveal a rather young woman wearing the standard military uniform – with an extremely short skirt, as promised by Roy when he stated he wanted a uniform change - standing on the other side and spit out the water he had in his mouth.

"Ahem. Excuse me, sir. Would you happen to be Edward Elric?" said the woman who stood there as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the water that got on her. He didn't think there would be a woman standing outside his front door and turned around, quickly wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve before he turned to talk to the woman.

"Err, sorry about that... Yes. That's me but who's asking?"

"Please, let me introduce myself. I am Sergeant Jackie Grendle from the crime investigations division and I've been assigned to assist you in your investigation. It is a pleasure to be meeting the famous Full-Metal," said the woman as she saluted Ed.

Ed stared at Jackie for a few seconds before wistfully saluting her back and saying, "It's nice to meet you too, Sergeant. Please come in."

He let Jackie in and showed her to the living room, where Jackie politely sat down on a nice plush green sofa, awaiting her next orders. Ed sighed quietly, trying to think of what to say, since he wasn't prepared to leave - even if he looked like he was – and still needed to find Roy's folder. He started down at himself and though he should quickly go to the bathroom to freshen up.

"Look, sorry Sergeant, but you may have to wait for a minute. I kind of just woke up and haven't really gotten ready yet. Please, make yourself comfortable while you're waiting," Edward said before turning around and heading to the bathroom.

"Of course, Sir," the Sergeant said with a smile as she laid back upon the sofa. Edward came back out five minutes later, all ready to go, with the folder in hand.

"Okay! So, I looked at the information I received yesterday, and we're going to the home of a lady named Bella Craig. If I'm right, I believe she lived near that restaurant, 'Sunshine's Breakfast Bar'." Ed said while he looked at the files in his hands. All of a sudden, his stomach grumbled loudly. Both stared awkwardly at Edward's hungry tummy.

"Oops…! Sorry about that. I haven't had anything to eat yet. Do you mind if we stop by some breakfast bar and grab a quick breakfast-to-go?" Ed asked sheepishly as he put a hand behind his head in embarrassment.

"Yes of course," Jackie replied as they left room and exited the building. They approached a rather sleek modern car parked at the front of the dormitory and Jackie opened the back door. Ed got in to the back of the car while Jackie closed it and went to sit down in the driver's seat.

"It's a good place to eat at. I went to that bar myself yesterday morning and it has good food as it does service! It's almost better than an Inn! Luckily, reservations aren't even needed. Oh, please do be careful with those papers. I'm not very good with driving just yet and I don't want you to lose any papers if I have to make a sudden stop." Jack replied while she started up the car and stepped on the pedal.

'_Boy, __she __sure __can __talk,__'_ Ed thought as he said, "Don't worry about it. Stop by there first please, Sergeant. Oh, By the way, we ought to eat fast so we can make it to the crime scene on time. I'm sure being tardy isn't a good thing when you're on the investigation division, am I right?"

"You're absolutely right," She replied as she took a left turn at a corner. Ed settled back, starting to read the papers while Jackie drove. Minutes later - after a rather silent drive - the car pulled to a rough jerky stop, making Ed drop his entire folder, the papers fluttering everywhere to the floor. Ed gasped and reached for them as the door opened, surprising Sergeant Grendle as the gentle breeze caused the papers to fly past her out onto the streets.

"Oh! Oh no! Colonel! Let me pick those up for you!" Jackie cried as she went after the stray papers floating around. Ed quickly got out of the car and went for the papers lying on the concrete street. He didn't notice that he'd made a spectacle of himself until he noticed the crude staring eyes. Ed quickly put the papers under his armpit after he collected all the papers and ushered Jackie towards the bar as to not seem conspicuous. The two entered the rather crowed restaurant, the bell announcing their arrival. All of a sudden, a waitress popped seemingly out of nowhere, surprising both with her big bright smile. She was a cheeky girl who happened to be slightly taller than him. He looked down at her feet, and noticed she wore ridiculously lengthy high heels, which explained his annoyance. He hated high heels. They made people look so much taller and were for females only.

"Hello! I'm Claire! Welcome to Sunshine's Breakfast! Where even the Sun can't amount to the heat cooking our eggs! Would that be a table for two as you're together if you know what I mean?" the waitress announced as she tilted her head and smiled mischievously, further strengthening Ed's annoyance. He looked over at the nervous Sergeant. She shuffled about and looked back at him with an equally nervous look.

"Um, yeah," Ed answered with a small shrug as he thought, _'__What __is __with __this __waitress? __Is __she __stupid? __We__'__re __not __dating! __If __anything, __I__'__d __rather__…__!__'_

"Alrigh-ty! Please follow me and I'll show you to your table!"

Claire motioned for them to follow and lead them to an empty table near the back beside some large windows. The two sat across from each other as the waitress handed out the menus.

"I'll let y'all look at the menu and be back in a flash!" Claire said while she turned and went to seat some other customers. Ed sighed after she left and checked the folder, to see if any of the pages were missing.

"Good. It looks like I didn't lose any papers."

"I should have warned you I'm not particularly good at parallel parking…! I'm so sorry about that, sir!" Jackie whispered while she fidgeted in her seat.

"It's alright. We didn't lose anything so it's all good," Ed replied as he opened up the menu and looked at the choices.

"Well it looks like we're both going to eat. Did you eat breakfast yet?" Ed asked while flipping through the pages. As if in response to his question, there was a slight grumble that came from Jackie's stomach. Ed smiled knowingly as Jackie quickly put her hands on her stomach and flushed a light pink.

"Actually, no I haven't, Sir."

"I guess I'll pay for this since I'm the one who wanted to eat. Go ahead and choose whatever you want, Sergeant. It's my treat," Ed said as he spotted a sample photo of a breakfast dish and thought he should order it. It was an intriguing photo of a simple dish of bacon and eggs, toasted bread and a complimentary side dish of sausages and hash browns and it was all for a very cheap price. He didn't notice the Sergeant opening her own menu and looking at the exact same dish.

'_This __really __is __an __awesome __breakfast __bar!_' Ed thought happily before he heard Jackie reply, "That's very generous, Sir. Yet I think I'll pay for my own potion, thank you very much."

"Okay! If that's what you want! That's fine, that's fine. So…what do you want to eat?"

"Well, since you asked, I've decided to order the bacon and egg breakfast combo. What about you, Sir? Have you made a selection from the menu yet?"

Edward's jaws dropped instantly at what he heard and cried, "Wait! What? I was about to order that too!"

Jackie looked up at Edward with an equal amount surprise and then quickly turned her head away. He coughed slightly before saying, "Um, let's just forget I said anything, okay? It looks as though we'll be staying a while longer than what I intended too."

The sergeant nodded and the both of them continued looking at the menus in silence until Claire returned half a minute later.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting! Now, have you guys decided on something to eat?" Claire asked while she took out a small note pad and pen from her apron.

The two nodded as Edward said, "Yeah, I'd like the bacon and egg combo along with some coffee, please."

The waitress quickly scribbled it down on the pad and looked over at Jackie as she stated her order, saying, "Same thing except I'd just like water, thank you."

"Will that be all for you two?" Claire asked after writing down Jackie's order.

"Yes, that'll be it for now, thanks," Ed told Claire while she ripped out the sheet with the orders and put the pen and pad back in her pocket.

"I'm going to be back in a while with your food, okay?" Claire said as she went to the kitchen to place the orders. The next two or three passed by in an uncomfortable silence until the waitress came back and presented a plate to both at the table and they both dug eagerly into the food, happy that there was no more need to talk to each other. Eating quickly, they managed to finish and get back to the car ten minute later afterwards. Yet as they drove off towards the first crime scene, nobody could say that it wasn't the least bit awkward between the two.

* * *

"No way! A parfait! Al! You shouldn't have!" Winry cried happily as she drooled over the delicious vanilla strawberry chocolate desert topped with cherries sitting on the counter.

"Yeah, it's homemade. I made it just now so you'd better eat it before it gets ruined," Al replied with a smile. He watched as Winry's eyes began to sparkle happily and it made him feel a lot better.

'_I__'__m __glad __Winry __still __really l__oves __this __treat! __I__'__ve __got __no __money __to __buy __another __present __to __calm __her __down__…__!__' _ Al thought to himself sheepishly.

"Wow, Al! Where did you learn to make such as dessert?" she asked while she went to a nearby drawer and grabbed a spoon.

"Oh…I learned a lot during my time away from home," Al said, taking in the praise.

"Well then, I won't put your efforts to waste! Hopefully, I won't be too full for the party," she replied as she grabbed a seat and started eating.

"I'm sure you won't, Winry."

"Oh my…! Alphonse, this is delicious!" she said as she spooned another scoop of ice cream, her eyes shining with anticipation.

"I'm glad you like it," Alphonse said with a small smile. Winry looked at him with a face that showed mixed emotions. She blinked a few times before Al noticed water forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Did I do something again? I'm sorry!" Al cried as he waves his hands around crazily and tried to console her. Winry got a tissue and wiped her tears as she started to laugh.

"What are you saying? You didn't do anything, silly!"

"B-b-but… -"

"Oh…I'm sorry…I'm just… really must have gotten a bit emotional from eating this yummy dessert…! I just haven't had any treats in a while. Sorry if I worried you."

"That's good! I hope you're not mad at me anymore?" Al asked hopefully.

"How could I be mad at you after you made this delicious parfait?" Winry whispered as she stuffed more ice-cream into her mouth.

"You know what…? There is something I could use your help with though…," Alphonse said cautiously as he shuffled about nervously. Winry stopped eating for a moment and looked up at him, listening intently.

"Would you mind helping me style my hair?"

Winry quickly finished the rest of the dessert, smiled, stood up and dusted herself off.

"Well! Why didn't you say so? Of course I will!" Winry said as she dumped the parfait cup in the sink and grabbed Al's arm, dragging him along with her up the stairs.

'_Oh __boy__…__! __I __hope __she __won__'__t __go __over board__…__!__'_ Al thought sadly as he let himself be dragged. Winry suddenly let go of his hand and turned as she asked, "I just remembered something. Would you mind grabbing a chair and meeting me in the bathroom? I'm just going to go grab some supplies and I'll be right there!"

"Okay!" Al called out as she ran off down the hall towards her room. Al went into his own bedroom and got the wooden chair before he made his way to their meeting place. Al found the door closed and set down the chair before knocking. He opened it after he didn't get an answer and found it empty. Winry wasn't there yet.

"I'm here now! Bring the chair in with you!" called out a voice from behind Al that surprised him. He quickly whipped around to find a stunned Winry standing there.

"Whoa! Al! Careful there!" Winry said as she moved back a bit.

"Oh…sorry, Winry…! You surprised me," Al said jokingly.

Winry walked past him, carrying a container of a mysterious looking substance along with a comb. Al eyed the product curiously as followed Winry into the bathroom. She ordered him to sit as she opened the container.

"So…? Do you have some sort of hair-style in mind?" Al asked as he took a seat and Winry took her place behind him.

"Yes! I do! It'll be a surprise!"

"Wait..! Can I ask what's in that tube?"

"Oh! You mean this? It's a sticky-syrup-like thing that's good for styling hair with. It's called hair gel!" Winry replied happily.

"You mean, you bought it for yourself?"

"No! Of course not, silly! I got it as a present from Mrs. Hughes for my birthday last year. I would never have enough money to buy such a thing like this," Winry replied as she squeezed some gel out onto her hand and starting running it through Al's hair, playing and pulling and tugging on strands to make it become what she'd envisioned. It took what felt like forever, but when she was finally finished, Al had to admit he liked what she did. There wasn't much of a difference but his hair did look neater, spikier and not to mention nicer too. He was officially ready to go party!

As they finished their party preparations the two headed downstairs, and said their goodbyes to Pinako and Den before heading out the door.

_'I __hope __she __likes __my __present! __Just __thinking __about __it __makes __me __nervous,'_ Alphonse thought as he felt for the little box gift in his pant pocket.

* * *

The afternoon sun blinded Roy as he woke up on the couch in his bedroom, feeling uncomfortable from his awkward nap.

'_Great. __I __think __I__'__ll __buy __a __new __couch,__'_ he thought as he walked over to the bed to find Riza still peacefully sleeping. He stared at her pretty face for a moment before turning on his heels, trying to quietly sneak out of the room before a voice stopped him.

"You will go check up on Rosa today, won't you?" Riza asked, making Roy twitch at the emphasis on 'will' as he turned around, surprised by the sight of his wife.

"Yes, yes! Of course I will! As long as you stay in bed," Roy said as he put on his blue military uniform jacket and buttoned it.

"Wait! I must also –," Riza began as she started trying to get out of bed but had little strength in her legs and fell off instead. Roy took quick long strides to get to her side and help her get up.

"No. You really mustn't go anywhere today. I'll watch over Rosa, alright? You trust me, don't you?"

"I'm sorry. I just can't trust you to finish your paperwork on time in order to check up on her,"

Roy sighed. Even after everything that happened between them, she was still as stubborn as always. Even when he did all in his power to make everyone's lives as peaceful as possible, she still couldn't trust him to get his paperwork done. He knew that with or without his loyal crew back by his side, paperwork would still get the papers done eventually. He helped her lay back in bed and sat on the edge of it. He was happy that she had at least given in to his request.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I really can't trust you to get all those papers done,"

"Riza, for the last time, it's Roy,"

This statement made her blink. She smiled a bit as she turned to look at him and said, "I'm sorry. I've called you that for so long that it takes some getting used too. You could say it has become a habit,"

"Seriously, Riza? It's quiet simple. Say it with me now. Ruh-oi. Roy. It's been two years now and you still can't call me that?" her husband asked while smiling back at her. Roy leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Not now. You better go or you're going to be late,"

Roy looked at the clock and his eyes widened. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"I guess I'd better go. Now stay in bed or you'll get lost in our large home,"

"You should give me more credit for all I'm worth. I memorized the layout of this building on the day we moved in, Roy,"

This made Roy smile. Even if she did soften up after they married after he took down the laws forbidding them from being together, she was still the same woman that stuck by his side for all those years. The independent strong-headed woman he realized couldn't be replaced, and he loved that about her. He even realized that she decided to finally call him by his first name but chose not to mention it for her sake and he stood up.

"Oh you did now? Well then I'll have to get the maids to force you to stay put," he replied as he left their bedroom and closed the door behind him. The two maids standing outside the door bowed to him and he regarded them with a nod.

"Please make sure she stays in bed, alright?" Roy said to the two maids standing by the door as he walked down the hall. They nodded their heads to show that they heard his orders and Roy continued on his way. He walked towards the stairs, went down them and walked through another couple hallways before he reached the Grand Foyer and exited the house. He shielded his eyes from the blinding sun and quickly made his way towards the nearby Central Military Headquarters. He had to be quick. After all, being Führer was as difficult as a job could get, even with the benefits of irregular hours.

Meanwhile, back in the bedroom, Riza stood up, and weakly went over to the window. A maid tried to get her to lay down but Riza quickly shrugged her off. She looked outside, using her hands to block out the strong sunlight and stared, waiting to see Roy walk out of the house. It only took him a minute or so and the sight of him leaving for work reminded her of that one fateful day. The day he proposed to her.

* * *

Edward stepped out of the car after the door was opened for him, and walked towards an abandoned looking house, closely followed by Sergeant Jackie Grendle.

'_I __don__'__t __understand __how __that __idiot __of __a __leader __can __handle __having __someone __following __him __all __day!__'_ Ed grumbled to himself as he went to the back of the dreary run down house, where some military personnel were gathered to investigate the crime. A young brown haired man walked up to him and saluted. Ed saluted back and the man spoke.

"Sir, you are the Full-Metal Alchemist, correct?" the man asked after the salutations. Ed nodded as the man went onwards to introduce himself. Ed nor the man realized that Jackie had started to look extremely uncomfortable.

"We were noted of your presence here. I am Captain George Rands and I'm in charge of the investigation upon the death of Ms. Bella Craig,"

Edward nodded but didn't really care for introductions. He would much rather get it over with and proceeded to do just that.

"So, Captain Rands, what do you have so far?"

"We haven't found any evidence just yet and we have no suspects either, Sir," the younger man replied.

'_Basically, __he__'__s __got __no __more __information __that __what __I__'__ve __got __in __the __folder,__'_ Ed thought to himself as he nodded again and asked the man to show him around the crime scene. After a quick tour, he decided to turn to the female Sergeant and ask for her opinion on the matter. He looked at her quizzically when he saw her fidgeting.

"Is something wrong, Sergeant?"

"Oh, nothing at all, sir! I just …!"

"Come on now! Just spit it out and say what's on your mind, will you?"

"If you say so, but could we talk elsewhere? Preferably somewhere private? I…I don't feel safe talking here about _that_,"

"That…?"

"You'll see. I know a place where we can speak in private."

Ed shrugged, following her after telling the Captain that he had a quick matter to attend to and that he would be back within a bit. He followed her for a couple minutes before they ended up in an alleyway. He shivered slightly. Alleyways were never his thing. Dangerous people always happened to be here and he always ran into trouble at these sort of places. She had her back turned to him the entire time and he wanted her to spit out her thoughts so they could get back to the crime scene.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, sir, I just wanted to say that…," She started while slowly turning around and pointed a gun directly at him, an evil grin plastered upon her face. Edward's eyes widened as his mind tried to comprehend the situation and he almost missed her next words.

"I'm sorry, but unless you give me what I want, you must die. Right here. Right now."

* * *

Elsewhere, across the desert in a hot and large country sat a bored and rather saddened man upon a throne. He sighed and shifted upon his seat to make himself comfortable. A masked woman was standing beside him and seeing his upset expression upset her, for she knew why he was like that.

"My lord, you've a meeting with your counsellors in ten minutes. Would you like to review the discussion topics beforehand?" asked the woman in a monotone voice. The man turned and looked at her glumly.

"No. Lan-Fan. You make me sad,"

He could see the eyes under the mask blink a bit before frowning.

"I apologize, but I do not see-,"

"Then why won't you marry me, Lan-Fan? I proposed over fifteen times already and you keep constantly rejecting me. How can I not be sad?"

The woman blushed and was about to speak before a young girl barged in excitedly, letter in hand, and ran up towards the man on the throne. Both the woman and the man turned to look quizzically at the happy child, wondering what could have brought her into such a cheery mood.

"Hm? What is it May?" asked the man as he tilted his head. The girl panted, trying to catch her breath before replying, "Emperor Ling! We just received a letter from Winry!They're finally back! The Elric brothers are back!"

Two pairs of eyes widened before the Emperor grinned widely and mischievously. The woman beside his did not like that look. Not one bit!

"Well, well! Those two brothers have caused me a lot of heartache. Now then! Maybe we ought to go pay them a visit!" the man said as he stood up from his throne, a smirk playing on his lips.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES CONTINUED WITH FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS: **

**October, 11th/ 2011**

**J. U. T. H. L here.**

**Hopefully, you have read the announcement. Again, I'd like to apologize for the extremely long delay [But I've been so BUSY BUSY BUSY...!] and have made the chapter a bit longer just for you guys. I didn't have as much fun with this chapter as it was hard to get into but what-the-hey, it was fun to do the scene where Jackie pulls a gun on Edward. Cliff-hanger! Also, I think I need to come up with the scenario where Roy and Riza get together. That'll be fun! I can get Grumman to come in now. Haha! **

**I'd also like to make a few adjustments to that announcement. **

**The reason I'd re-editing/uploading a couple chapters is because I found a couple of mistakes in them. Like, for instance, in the chapter "Re-attachment". I think Ed got his arm back before he headed to Germany didn't he? I will have to research that as I am not entirely sure. I think Ed had a fake arm in the Shamballa movie. Also, my prologue needs TONS of work. I realize now that there are a number of mistakes there. **

**Also, I'm going to try and concentrate on my Detective Conan Series and I will be delaying the Detective Special. Sorry guys. The next chapter of this will take a bit to finish. **

**Please forgive me! **

**-J.****U.****T.****H.****L**

* * *

**EXTRA BONUS:**

**Delayed until next chapter. Sorry.**

* * *

**RE-EDITED: October 23rd 2011**


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